Andrew Yang in Interviews during 2018-2020
On Crime:
Repeal 1994 crime bill, decriminalize truancy
Elizabeth Warren has released a criminal justice reform plan that takes aim at two of her chief rivals: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Warren targets the controversial 1994 crime bill, which Biden helped write, as well as school truancy, an issue which
Harris took a firm approach to as a prosecutor in California. Warren called for a repeal of the bulk of the 1994 crime bill. Supporting the decriminalization of truancy, Warren advocates for "positive behavior interventions" over punishments.
Source: Slate.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Aug 11, 2019
On Gun Control:
Help gun owners "personalize" guns free of charge
"You're more likely to have a child or the owner get shot than to kill an intruder into the house." The answer to the problem would be to have "personalized" guns that prevent anybody but the owner from firing the weapon. "If we can convince Americans
that personalized guns are a good idea then--if the child gets ahold of the gun then they can't do anything with it," he said. "One of my proposals is to help gun owners upgrade their guns to personalized guns free of charge."
Source: Slate.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Aug 11, 2019
On Homeland Security:
I'd love to declassify Area 51, for government transparency
Andrew Yang said he would 'love' to declassify Area 51, because he is a 'huge fan' of government transparency. "So I have to see what the information is, but if it's something I could declassify, I would love to do that," Yang told CBS News. "I'm a huge
fan of transparency and anything that isn't going to do the public harm, so if I become privy to any information about aliens or Area 51 or anything that I am able to share, I will share it."Yang's statement comes in response to a viral
Facebook event to "storm Area 51" and "see them aliens," with 1.7 million people marked "going" on Facebook, and another 1.3 million indicating interest on the Sept. 20 event.
The joke even reached the attention of the US Air Force, prompting a
warning to the potential participants to stay away from the military base: "The Nevada Test and Training Range is an area where the Air Force tests and trains combat aircraft. Any attempt to illegally access military training areas is dangerous."
Source: Business Insider magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Jul 19, 2019
On Education:
Offered high pay for teachers in earlier business
Yang mostly kept the company running as it always had. Manhattan Prep's signature practice was to pay tutors $100 an hour, three or four times the prevailing market rate, in order to attract the cream of the crop.
In pursuits after Manhattan Prep, Yang stuck to the principle that high wages lead to better quality of teaching. Yang's platform includes the proposal to "increase teacher salaries" across the board.
Source: Slate.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Jun 25, 2019
On Abortion:
Male legislators shouldn't decide female reproductive rights
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang supports a woman's right to choose. "I personally don't think male legislators should be weighing in on women's reproductive rights and freedoms," he tweeted last month as Alabama passed its ban on nearly all abortions.
Yang also believes the Hyde Amendment should be repealed, his campaign manager, Zach Graumann, told the NewsHour.
Among the plethora of policy proposals on his campaign website, Yang argues that "the two most effective ways" to decrease the number of abortions are increasing access to birth control and providing support to
those "who are financially struggling and become pregnant" through his plan for universal basic income. As president, Yang has said he would also nominate judges who support a woman's right to choose.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Jun 7, 2019
On Social Security:
Universal Basic Income recipients might lose other benefits
To receive UBI, citizens would have to choose between the $1,000 or any existing welfare benefits--potentially including Social Security, disability insurance, food stamps, and housing assistance. It's unclear whether Yang's UBI would be worth that
trade-off for many low-income families. Yang's press secretary could not provide a "full list of programs.but health care is definitely not considered part of someone's current benefits when talking about the Freedom Dividend."
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 23, 2019
On Health Care:
Aligned with "intactivists": against circumcision
Andrew Yang's stance on key issues: Circumcision: In March, Yang came out against circumcision, telling the Daily Beast: "I'm highly aligned with the intactivists.
History will prove them even more correct. From what I've seen, the evidence on it being a positive health choice for the infant is quite shaky."
Source: Axios.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Apr 22, 2019
On Abortion:
Abortion should be regulated by doctors, not legislators
He thinks that state laws regarding the legalization of the process should be handled by a board of doctors rather than legislators. Uniquely among his fellow candidates,
Yang has proposed ways to decrease the amount of abortions in the country, saying that contraceptives and financial support to impoverished pregnant women should be provided.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Crime:
Police unfairly target minorities
Yang believes that minorities are unfairly targeted by police and has proposed assigning
every officer a body cam to aid in investigations.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Government Reform:
Make Puerto Rico a state
Yang wants to make the U.S. territory of
Puerto Rico an official state.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Gun Control:
Make gun manufacturers liable for mass shootings
Yang has proposed holding gun manufacturers responsible for mass shootings by charging them $1 million per person killed in a public setting.
He also wants to raise the legal age of gun ownership from 18 to 21.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Immigration:
Supports the DREAM Act
Yang has conceded that the Southern border needs more security but has offered no specific alternatives to the president's border wall.
Supports the DREAM Act.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Subsidize journalists to do local reporting
He plans to initiate the American Journalism Fellows, "through which reporters from each state nominated by a body of industry professions... will be give a 4-year grant of
$400,000... and stationed at a local news organization with the condition that they report on issues relevant to the district during the period of their Fellowship."
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
On Tax Reform:
Value-Added Tax as part of new capitalist philosophy
Yang has voiced plans to institute a carbon tax on fossil fuel gasoline. He has also proposed a Value-Added Tax. Yang has mentioned the institution of a new capitalist philosophy which he says will be geared
towards "maximizing human well-being and fulfillment." However, he hasn't provided any details as to how this would be legally integrated into the market.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Feb 6, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021