Andrew Yang in Democratic Primary Debate
On Drugs:
Decriminalize small opiate possession, safe injection sites
Part of helping people get the treatment that they need is to let them know that they're not going to be referred to a prison cell, they will be referred to treatment and counseling.
We need to decriminalize opiates for personal use. Then we need to open up safe consumption and safe injection sites around the country because they save lives.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Jobs:
Federal job programs are not the answer to changing economy
I am for the spirit of a federal jobs guarantee, but you have to look at how it would actually materialize in practice. Most Americans do not want to work for the federal government and saying that that is the vision of the economy of the
21st century is not a vision that most Americans would embrace. If you rely upon the federal government to target its resources, you wind up with failed retraining programs and jobs that no one wants.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Not left or right, but forward
Donald Trump had a set of solutions in 2016.We're going to build a wall. We're going to turn the clock back. We're going to bring the old jobs back. America, we have to do the opposite of all of these things. We have to turn the clock forward.
We have to accelerate our economy and society as quickly as possible. We have to evolve in the way we think about ourselves and our work and our value. It is not left, it is not right, it is forward.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Impeachment won't solve problems that got Trump elected
I support impeachment, but we shouldn't have any illusions that impeaching Donald Trump will 1.) be successful or 2.) erase the problems that got him elected in 2016.
The fact is, Donald Trump, when we're talking about him, we are losing. We need to present a new vision and that even includes talking about impeaching Donald Trump.
Source: October Democratic Primary debate on impeaching Trump
Oct 15, 2019
On Tax Reform:
Wealth tax didn't work where it was tried
A wealth tax makes a lot of sense in principle. The problem is that it's been tried in Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, and all of those countries ended up repealing it because it had massive implementation problems and did not generate the revenue
that they'd projected. If we can't learn from the failed experiences of other countries, what can we learn from? We should not be looking to other countries' mistakes. Instead, we should look at what [they] still have, which is a value-add
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Technology:
Russian hacking of our elections is a hostile act
Q: Your response to Putin and Russia?Andrew Yang: We have to let Russia know, "Look, we get it. We've tampered with other elections. You've tampered with our elections. And now it has to stop. And if it does not stop, we will take this as an act of
hostility against the American people." I believe most Americans would support me on this. But Russian hacking of our democracy is an illustration of the 21st century threats: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate change,
loose nuclear material, military drones and non-state actors. These are the threats that are going to require our administration to catch up in terms of technology. We all know we are decades behind the curve
on technology. As Commander in Chief, I will help pull us forward, and that's going to be a huge responsibility of the next president.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Technology:
Concerned about how tech affects children
As the parent of two young children, I'm particularly concerned about screen use and its effect on our children. Studies clearly show that we're seeing record levels of anxiety and depression coincident with smartphone adoption and social media use.
Breaking up the tech companies does nothing to make our kids healthier. What we have to do is we have to home in on the specific problems we're trying to solve and use 21st century solutions for 21st century problems.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
On Technology:
Users should own their personal data, get paid for its use
The best way we can fight back against big tech companies is to say our data is our property. Right now our data is worth more than oil. How many of you remember getting your data check in the mail? It got lost. It went to Facebook, Amazon, Google.
If we say this is our property and we share in the gains that's the best way we can balance the scales against the big tech companies.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Oct 15, 2019
Page last updated: Feb 09, 2020