Dear Yang2020 Campaign,
I am currently a proud member of the #YangGang, and am happy to say that I'm meeting more and more people who believe in the Freedom Dividend. I'm also getting more and more questions about how Yang will get the required legislation past Congress.
I haven't seen many compelling answers to that question, so in the spirit of support, I want to freely offer the following response for consideration, which I wrote with my best understanding of Andrew as a candidate, and in the best traditions of the campaign.
DRAFT RESPONSE to the question: "how will he get the Freedom Dividend past Congress?"
1) Get Started on It Now - By middle of January 2020, two weeks before the Iowa Caucuses, our campaign will release a comprehensive draft of the Freedom Dividend legislation and make it available simultaneously to all sitting members of Congress and the American public.
To minimize conflicts of interest, this January 2020 draft will be written by my campaign, without involvement of sitting Democratic or Republican legislators. Prior to October 15 of this year, we’ll invite a team of 8 recognizable and respectable individuals, 4 leaning conservative and 4 leaning liberal to act as non-participating observers of the process up until we release the draft in mid-January. They will be free to publicly opine on what they observe of our process. This way, the American people can see the entire piece of legislation and scrutinize it before they even cast a single vote during the Primaries.
Additionally, during the Primaries and leading up to election day, my campaign will organize feedback from all walks of America, along with feedback from Republican and Democratic leadership, to refine the draft. In 2020, let’s focus on problem solving rather than running attack ads.
2) Freedom Dividend Truce 2021 - If we’re going to call this the most important piece of domestic legislation of our time, then we have to treat it as such. As President, I will in my first year, resist all attempts by either Democrats or Republicans to affect existing legislation or government funding levels on divisive social issues like: Second Amendment rights, Abortion Laws, Immigration Reform, and Climate Change. My recently released Climate Change plan takes this into account.
At this time, I’m calling on Democrats, including our leadership, to commit to a 2021 truce on these divisive social issues to get the Freedom Dividend passed so that all Americans will benefit, including the 100 million living in poverty and near-poverty conditions. Democrats should resist any attempts by Republicans to break the truce; and should not do so ourselves – regardless of who controls what chamber of Congress.
And to the American people, if you think that’s a good idea, spread the word via #FDTruce2021.
3) Human Centered Capitalism Reporting - Our campaign is founded on three main pillars: 1) the Freedom Dividend, 2) Medicare for all, and 3) Human Centered Capitalism. If we are going to evolve our capitalist system to one that will value people along with profits, then we first need to have the correct measurements.
As your President I can just use the powers of the executive office to begin tracking and reporting, along with GDP, measurements like life expectancy, graduation rates, mental health…etc. The Freedom Dividend is a foundational aspect of Human Centered Capitalism, and the more we as Americans see important measures of national health being reported alongside GDP, the more we will understand how important it is to pass the required legislation.
Better reporting will increase the political will of Congress and the American people to pass the Freedom Dividend.
In short…
1) before I’m in office, my campaign, with the help of and in full-view of the American people, will begin work drafting legislation on the Freedom Dividend,
2) after I’m in office, my administration will, along with the American people call on Congress for #FDTruce2021, and
3) immediately upon entering office, my administration will begin work on Human Centered Capitalism reporting, something that doesn’t require Congress, but will help Congress get the Freedom Dividend passed