Andrew Yang in Survey of 2020 Presidential campaign websites

On Abortion: Support a woman's right to choose, including contraception

As President, I will...
• Appoint judges who support a woman's right to choose.
• Support a woman's right to choose in every circumstance and provide resources for planning and contraception.

On Corporations: Same tax rate on capital gains as on earned income

As President, I will...
• Propose an end to favorable tax treatment for capital gains and carried interest. Ending the carried interest treatment loophole alone would generate $18 billion per year in revenue and ending favorable treatment of capital gains would generate tens of billions more.

On Crime: Replace mass incarceration with social programs

Problems to be solved:
• Mass incarceration is one of the biggest civil rights issues of our times, and it needs to be addressed so that all have a fair shot a life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

As President, I will...
• Work to end the use of private prison facilities for federal inmates.
• Shift drug policy away from punishment and towards treatment.
• Invest money to fund innovative prison programs that decrease recidivism and increase reintegration.
• Invest money to support businesses that hire felons who have served their prison term.
• Push to reconsider harsh felony laws that prevent those who have served their prison term from reintegrating into society.
• Identify non-violent drug offenders for probation and potential early release.
• Implement Universal Basic Income which will dramatically decrease incentives for criminality and improve the functioning of individuals and communities.

On Crime: Body cameras for every police officer

As President, I will...
• Authorize federal funding to pay for a body camera for every officer in every police department in the country.
• Have the DOJ compile accurate composite measurements, including from private sources, of police-related incidents and deaths to establish baseline rates.
• Provide federal funding for training of local police officers in the latest techniques.
• Encourage community-based policing and reward departments for a combination of low complaints and continued efficacy.
• Re-establish the ban on distributing surplus unnecessary military-level artillery gear to police departments.
• Invest in new non-lethal weaponry that can be used to de-escalate conflicts at range and handprint signature guns so that weapons can only be used by their officers (`he reached for my gun' will no longer apply).

On Drugs: War on Drugs has not worked: treatment instead of punishment

On Drugs: Full legalization of marijuana; expunge federal convictions

As President, I will...
• Support the full legalization of marijuana at the federal level and remove it from the controlled substances list.
• Expunge the federal convictions of all marijuana-related use or possession offenses.
• Identify non-violent drug offenders for probation and potential early release.

On Drugs: Decriminalize small quantities of opioid use and possession

As President, I will...Drastically increase funding to treatment programs for opioid users, through fines levied against the companies that marketed these drugs.
• Decriminalize small quantities of opioid use and possession.
• Make treatment programs much more available and affordable to anyone found with small quantities of these drugs.
• Provide grants for their own treatment programs to states that decriminalize small quantities of opioid use/possession.

On Education: Improving teacher salaries improves student success

Problems to be solved:
• Teacher salaries in this country are too low to incentivize potential teachers with great skill but other options
• Teachers don't have a strong monetary incentive to continually improve their craft

As President, I will...
• Work with states to fund their educational systems to improve teacher salaries and reduce layers of administration, leading to better educational outcomes

On Education: Require colleges to cut administrative costs

As President, I will...
• Explore a gradual phase-in of a desired ratio of administrators to students of 1 to 30 as a condition of public funding as opposed to the current 1 to 21. The ratio was 1 to 50 in the 1970s --if we can get back to that level then college will be much cheaper.
• Stipulate that any university that receives public funding cannot increase its costs by more than the rate of annual median wage growth.
• Modify the U.S. News and World Report rankings and eliminate the ability of any university to compensate administrators with incentives tied to their rankings.

On Energy & Oil: Invest heavily in carbon capture and geoengineering

As President, I will...
• Invest heavily in carbon capture and geoengineering technologies designed to reverse the damage already done to the environment through a new Global Geoengineering Institute and invite international participation.
• Invest in any idea that has the potential to reverse the damage done to the environment, for example cloud-seeding technology to increase the atmosphere's reflectivity.
• End the current tax benefits and cuts given to fossil fuel companies which give them an unwarranted competitive advantage over alternative energy sources.
• Institute a tax on emissions that will fund health care initiatives and research for respiratory diseases that are a direct result of these emissions.
• Empower and appoint an action-oriented leader of the EPA and direct the EPA to regulate carbon emissions.
• Prioritize sustainable infrastructure and urban development to take advantage of new materials and designs.

On Energy & Oil: Carbon tax: internalize the cost of carbon emissions

As President, I will...
• Propose a carbon fee and dividend systems that:
• Sets an initial carbon tax of $40/ton, which would increase in regular intervals
• Use that tax to fund, after administrative fees: (50%) The Universal Basic Income; (50%) Projects that are enhancing efficiency of fossil fuels or increasing availability of renewable resources
• Create a border carbon adjustment to protect American goods that would:
• charge a fee to imports from countries that don't impose a similar carbon fee
• provide a rebate to exports to countries that don't impose a similar carbon fee

On Environment: Nuclear isn't perfect, but it's a solid solution for now

As President, I will work to make it easier for new nuclear plants to open up in appropriate areas to increase the amount of nuclear energy America uses.

On Families & Children: Who you love and how you love are up to you

Problems to be solved:
• Too many Americans who identify as LGBTQ are discriminated against based on who they are.

As President, I will...
• Promote any legislation extending protected status to individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity
• Increase funding for programs directed at educating the public on LGBT+ issues
• Increase funding for programs meant to help LGBTQ individuals who are facing discrimination because of their identity
• Appoint LGBT individuals to senior posts in my administration

On Families & Children: Include family counseling in federal healthcare plans

As President, I will...
• Include family counseling in any healthcare plan offered through the federal government
• Mandate the inclusion of family counseling services in any plan sold through the ACA marketplaces
• Subsidize marriage counseling provided by any credentialed provider through the tax code

On Families & Children: All other advanced countries have paid family leave policy

Problems to be solved:
• America's lack of a paid family leave policy results in negative impacts on health, women's employment rate, and family cohesion
• A lack of a paid family leave policy forces many single parents--especially mothers--into poverty

As President, I will...
• Propose and fight for a paid family leave policy, requiring employers to offer at least 9 months of paid family leave, distributed between parents however they see fit;
• or 6 months of paid leave for a single parent

On Foreign Policy: Be very judicious about projecting force

On Foreign Policy: Strengthen alliances such as NATO; reinvest in diplomacy

Problems to be solved:
• America has involved itself at too high a cost in foreign issues that don't concern us
• We've lowered our stature in the world community, alienating allies and making it harder to form an effective coalition to accomplish our goals on the world stage

As President, I will...
• Work with our allies to rebuild our stature in the world, and strengthen alliances such as NATO
• Reinvest in diplomacy and bolster funding to the State Department
• Work with allies to project our combined strength throughout the world, without engaging in activities that will cost American lives and money with no clear benefit to our long-term well-being
• Sign a repeal to the AUMF, returning the authority to declare war to Congress
• Regularly audit the Department of Defense
• Focus our federal budget on fixing problems at home instead of spending trillions of dollars abroad

On Foreign Policy: Puerto Rican statehood is overdue step toward equality

Problems to be solved:
• Puerto Rico has been a part of the US for over a century but has never been granted the full rights of statehood

As President, I will...
• Take all steps necessary to promote Puerto Rican statehood as an overdue step toward equality if this is what Puerto Ricans want

On Government Reform: Adopt ranked-choice voting model for all primaries

Problems to be solved:
• Our current plurality/first-past-the-post system drives tactical voting and partisanship while not necessarily reflecting the will of the majority.

As President, I will...Push the DNC to adopt a ranked-choice voting model for all democratic primaries.
• Work with Congress to adopt ranked-choice voting for all federal elections. Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Government Reform: Provide every eligible voter with $100 Democracy Dollars

  The big problem right now with running for office is that you have to get the money on your side and the people on your side, and these are two different things. Imagine if every American had $100 Dollars to give to their favorite candidate--then if you get 10,000 people behind you, you'd get $1 million. You could then act in the best interests of the people you represent instead of sucking up to rich people and companies. Calling rich people for money is soul-crushing. We'd all be better off if politicians just needed to worry about representing the people that elected them rather than hustling for money all of the time.
  As President, I will...
  • Provide every eligible American voter with $100 Democracy Dollars for each federal election cycle, a voucher that they can use to support candidates of their choosing.
  • This amounts to $23+b nationwide per election, allowing for more than 4x the spending fueled by mega-donor contributions and dark money.
  Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Government Reform: Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United

  Money has overrun our politics, and that needs to change. I will gladly overturn Citizens United and return the American government to its people. This would also improve policymaking as leaders can turn toward solutions instead of constantly trying to raise money for their next campaign. Let's get big money out of politics once and for all--we'll all be much better off for it. I don't love calling rich people either, nor does any sane person.
  As President, I will...
  • Support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, which was a terrible decision that has made our politics even more polarized.
  • Support a public financing system of elections to reduce the influence of money in our democracy and open up the field beyond the very wealthy.
  • Eliminate super PACs and vessels for corporate intervention in campaigns.
  • Enforce our current campaign finance laws to curb corruption.
  Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Gun Control: Three-tier gun licensing for common-sense safety

  Most Americans agree on common-sense safety requirements and restrictions on firearms.
  As President, I will...
  • Promote a stringent, tiered licensing system for gun ownership (think a CDL vs. a regular driver's license):
  • All tiers: Pass a federal background check, eliminating the gun show loophole.
  • Tier 1--Basic hunting rifles and handguns: Provide a receipt for an appropriately-sized gun locker, or trigger lock per registered gun.
  • Tier 2--Semi-automatic rifles: Have a Tier 1 license for at least 1 year; Pass an advanced firearm safety class.
  • Tier 3--Advanced and automatic weaponry: Ban high-capacity magazines; Require submission of fingerprints and DNA to the FBI
  • Those who currently own any firearms will be grandfathered in with their current license, and for the 1-year requirement if they decide to apply for a Tier 2 license.
  Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Health Care: Medicare-for-All establishes a basic right

  Healthcare should be a basic right for all Americans. Right now, if you get sick you have two things to worry about--how to get better and how to pay for it. Too many Americans are making terrible, impossible choices between paying for healthcare and other needs. We need to provide high-quality healthcare to all Americans and a single-payer system is the most efficient way to accomplish that. It will be a massive boost to our economy as people will be able to start businesses and change jobs without fear of losing their health insurance.
  As President, I will...
  • Work with Congress to create a Medicare-for-All program, or a similar program, to provide healthcare to all Americans
  • Shift the way doctors are compensated to promote holistic and empathic care
  • Create incentives for and invest in innovative treatment methods and methodologies
  Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Homeland Security: Military spending on modern threats, not decades-old ones

  Problems to be solved:
  • The military budget makes up 54% of all discretionary spending, much of which is focused on defending against threats from decades ago as opposed to the threats of 2020.
  As President, I will...
  • Invest in the treatment of veterans, and ensure that soldiers are treated with care and respect upon returning home by a system that recognizes them as assets and contributors.
  • Identify areas where military spending is going to programs that aren't making us safer in the context of modern warfare that can be eliminated or are redundant.
  • Appoint a new Secretary of Cybersecurity to lead our efforts to secure our country's vital systems from cyberterrorism, which is one of the leading threats to our ongoing prosperity.
  • Invest heavily in counterproliferation efforts to identify and secure sources of weapons-grade nuclear material, including offering to buy such material for exorbitant prices.
  Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Homeland Security: Invest in equipment for technical superiority

  We need to build a military designed for the challenges of 2020, which are going to be determined as much by technical superiority and resilient systems as they are manpower and artillery. We have massive needs here at home that our men and women of the military can help us meet that will also help them develop valuable skills. Whatever we do, we should be investing resources to adequately equip and care for our men and women in service and afterwards. Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Homeland Security: Rechannel $60B per year from defense to infrastructure

  As President, I will rechannel 10% of the military budget--approximately $60 billion per year--to a new domestic infrastructure force called the Legion of Builders and Destroyers. The Legion would be tasked with keeping our country strong by making sure our bridges, roads, power grid, levies, dams, and infrastructure are up-to-date, sound and secure. It would also be able to clear derelict buildings and structures that cause urban blight in many of our communities and respond to natural disasters. The Legion would prioritize projects based on national security, economic impact, and regional equity. Its independent budget would ensure that our infrastructure would be constantly upgraded regardless of the political climate. The Commander of the Legion would have the ability to overrule local regulations and ordinances to ensure that projects are started and completed promptly and effectively. Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Immigration: Come out of shadows with long-term permanent residency

  As President, I will...
  • Secure the southern border and drastically decrease the number of illegal entries into the US
  • Provide a new tier of long-term permanent residency for anyone who has been here illegally for a substantial amount of time so that they can come out of the shadows and enter the formal economy and become full members of the community.
  • This new tier would permit individuals to work and stay in the country, provided they pay their taxes and don't get convicted of a felony.
  • This tier would put them on a longer, eighteen-year path to citizenship (the same amount of time it takes those born in the US to get full citizenship rights), reflecting our desire to bring them into our country but also their decision to circumvent legal immigration channels.
  • Invest heavily in an information campaign to inform immigrant communities of this new tier of residency, and deport any undocumented immigrant who doesn't proactively enroll in the program.
  Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Immigration: Deporting 11 million is impossible and inhumane

  We have to face facts that there are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. Millions of them pay taxes and have American children. Deporting them is impossible and inhumane. Having them continue to live in the shadows brings with it many problems and drawbacks. The best path forward is to provide a pathway to citizenship for those who are here illegally. We need to bring them into the formal economy out of the shadows. Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

  On Jobs: Pay equity for women and minorities

  Problems to be solved:
  • Women receive less pay for the same work as men do
  • The discrepancy in pay faced by black, Hispanic, and Native American women is even more pronounced
    As President, I will...
    • Pay all federal workers who are performing the same job the same salary
    • Work with states to implement salary disclosure laws
    • Refuse to hire outside contractors/companies that won't disclose salary information for their employees, and who don't provide equal pay for all employees who are performing equivalent work
    • Pilot studies to see if different policies result in more equitable hiring and pay in the federal workforce (e.g., blind hiring; 360-review promotion)
    Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

    On Social Security: Optional automatic tax-free retirement investment vehicle

    It's very hard to save for retirement years from now, and accounts seem very complex. Yet the earlier you start, the better off you'll be. We need to help Americans simplify their financial lives by making retirement savings self-activating. It's a lot easier to save money if it's automatically being done for you.
    Problems to be solved:
    • People want to do more to save for retirement but don't know how. Saving immediately is hard, but defining a time in the future to automatically start and increase that saving is much easier
    As President, I will...
    • Create a tax-free investment vehicle into which people can opt to automatically have a portion of their income directed, and allow them to define automatic increases to their contribution (either based on increases to their reported income, or at regular intervals)
    Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

    On Tax Reform: Revenue Day: make paying taxes a celebration

    Currently, paying taxes is a slog. Instead, let's make it a celebration. Revenue Day--the day taxes are due--should be a federal holiday. That day should feature celebrations. Running the country like a business means adopting basic things like appreciating your constituents. If someone pays taxes, that's great and we should make him or her feel like they contributed to important things that make people's lives better. Revenue Day should be a day of joy and celebration for our national community.
    As President, I will...
    • Create a federal holiday on the date taxes are due.
    • Provide a report to every taxpayer with a breakdown of where their tax dollars go.
    • Allow each American to direct 1% of their taxes to a specific project, department or activity of government (e.g. Veterans Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, etc.).
    • Bring 2 taxpayers who filed their taxes early from each state to a celebration at the White House on Revenue Day.
    Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

    On Technology: $1 trillion infrastructure investment; it's dangerous

    Our infrastructure is a dangerous embarrassment and a symbol of how weak our state has become. We are still living off of the investments of past generations in the 1960s. We need to own the future, which includes building a world-class infrastructure befitting the world's most advanced society in 2020. When our infrastructure works better we'll all work better. This will also help put millions of Americans back to work.
    As President, I will...
    • Propose a $1 trillion infrastructure investment initiative 'Rebuild America' over 5 years that will support over 13 million jobs and generate $1.5 trillion-plus in increased efficiency and productivity.
    • Include a series of Challenge Grants to include advanced materials and designs in new American structures with an emphasis on sustainability.
    • Expand the fiber-optic network to include rural areas and make it so that 98% of Americans have access to high-speed Internet.
    Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website Yang2020.com Mar 29, 2019

    On Welfare & Poverty: Create culture of lifting up the least among us

    Meeting this week with a national gathering of Christian entrepreneurs was enlightening. I found that the themes of the campaign and their point of view are aligned in many important respects?--?a mindset of abundance, of community, and of lifting up the least among us.

    Most people who are struggling today aren't struggling because of choices they made. Often economic hardship is the result of things outside of a person's control, like job loss, illness, or the place where they were born. It can also be the result of a culture that cares more about stock portfolios than people in need.

    Jesus' command to love our neighbor is at the heart of Christianity. More than 70% of Americans call themselves Christians. My question for each one of them comes from 1 John 3:17: "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?"

    Source: 2020 presidential campaign website yang2020.com May 15, 2018

    The above quotations are from Survey of 2020 Presidential campaign websites. Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Andrew Yang. Click here for Andrew Yang on all issues.
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    Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021