Washington (CNN) Nearly a month after ending his long shot Democratic presidential campaign, Andrew Yang launched on Thursday a nonprofit group focused on making the central ideas of his campaign a reality.
The group, called Humanity Forward, will "endorse and provide resources to political candidates who embrace Universal Basic Income, human-centered capitalism and other aligned policies at every level," according to its website.
Yang, a businessman who ended his campaign in February, rose from obscurity to become a highly-visible candidate, rallying a coalition of liberal Democrats, libertarians and some disaffected Republicans to form a devoted group of followers known as the Yang Gang. A prominent platform in his campaign was his so-called Freedom Dividend, a plan to give every American adult $1,000 a month universal basic income that he argued would alleviate a host of social ills and eradicate poverty.
The new group also plans to increase voter turnout in the 2020 election, with a particular focus on young Americans, Asian-Americans, independents and "individuals who have not been engaged in the political process," according to a release.
Additionally, Yang, who is now a CNN political commentator, will launch a podcast in which he will "discuss new ideas to solve the greatest challenges of our time with" notable guests and "regular Americans" alike.
orange_cuse on March 5th, 2020 at 19:25 UTC »
This is what I love about Yang. Forget the politics; he genuinely believed in his ideas re: UBI and it wasn't just a platform for him to base his campaign. And so regardless of his inability to push the issue from the presidential level he's taking the necessary steps to continue to try to improve the country. What a unique, refreshing candidate.
Rhamni on March 5th, 2020 at 18:50 UTC »
It's only going to get more popular over time as automation eliminates more jobs. Automation is good, a society that can't handle the unemployment that follows isn't.
sabrefoxx on March 5th, 2020 at 18:36 UTC »
FYI