Andrew Yang 2020 campaign megathread

[Mr. Morden]

Original Thread Title: Andrew Yang is running for the D nomination on an anti-robot apocalypse platform.

Modified by moderator when trying to consolidate a number of old threads.


He's been running for the 2020 Dem. nomination since November, and I doubt he'll get any more traction than Fred Karger 2012, but I just wanted to create a thread with "anti-robot apocalypse platform" in the title:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/technology/his-2020-campaign-message-the-robots-are-coming.html

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

You can't say he's not issue-focused.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

You can't say he's not issue-focused.

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

He's got my support.

[Mr. Morden]

His ad / intro video here is titled "Humanity First":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhArPPmHjCs

He really seems to be running a scare campaign about robots taking our jobs.  But I ask you, if a robot was assembled in Mexico and brought to the United States as a child, is that really its fault, or the fault of its creators?  Shouldn't we consider an amnesty for robots brought to this country at a young age?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

He really seems to be running a scare campaign about robots taking our jobs.  But I ask you, if a robot was assembled in Mexico and brought to the United States as a child, is that really its fault, or the fault of its creators?  Shouldn't we consider an amnesty for robots brought to this country at a young age?

Let's ask a Mexican-American robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pRnQYS0S5c

[America Needs R'hllor]

The robots are a big problem, folks. They're taking all our jobs. And when the scientists send us their robots, they're not sending us their best. They're bringing crime, they're bringing drugs. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good robots.

[King Lear]

I don’t want to sound like a nut, but automation is a serious problem (and has been for at least 30 years), and if the government dose not find a way to regulate it in a responsible way, it could potential destroy millions of jobs and excasterbate Americas income inequality to levels equivalent to a third world country. For example when I was on a vacation to Seattle last summer, I stumbled upon a Amazon-run grocery store (I think it was located at Amazons corporate headquarters) where people didn’t have to use a cash register and could just walk in and grab their groceries, and they only had one person working their. Can you imagine what would happen if Amazon (which recently bought Whole Foods), opened those grocery stores across America, and other grocery stores adopted the same idea to remain competitive? I can answer it for you, Millions of people in the service Industry would lose their jobs, and because the Republicans have destroyed most of our safety net (and plan on destroying the rest of it if Americans are dumb enough to give them more seats this year), most of these people would go into poverty and wind up on the street or in prison, which is exactly where the Republicans want anyone who happens to be underprivileged. And before people start saying “why don’t these people work hard and go to college and become doctors lawyers or accountants”, not everyone has the ability or opportunity to get higher education and high-end jobs, which is why we need to make sure their are professions available for people that aren’t born into privileged families.

[Sestak]

I don’t want to sound like a nut, but automation is a serious problem (and has been for at least 30 years), and if the government dose not find a way to regulate it in a responsible way, it could potential destroy millions of jobs and excasterbate Americas income inequality to levels equivalent to a third world country. For example when I was on a vacation to Seattle last summer, I stumbled upon a Amazon-run grocery store (I think it was located at Amazons corporate headquarters) where people didn’t have to use a cash register and could just walk in and grab their groceries, and they only had one person working their. Can you imagine what would happen if Amazon (which recently bought Whole Foods), opened those grocery stores across America, and other grocery stores adopted the same idea to remain competitive? I can answer it for you, Millions of people in the service Industry would lose their jobs, and because the Republicans have destroyed most of our safety net (and plan on destroying the rest of it if Americans are dumb enough to give them more seats this year), most of these people would go into poverty and wind up on the street or in prison, which is exactly where the Republicans want anyone who happens to be underprivileged. And before people start saying “why don’t these people work hard and go to college and become doctors lawyers or accountants”, not everyone has the ability or opportunity to get higher education and high-end jobs, which is why we need to make sure their are professions available for people that aren’t born into privileged families.

"Siri, get me directions to the Reaganfan Resevation."

[Beet]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

[Sestak]

For example when I was on a vacation to Seattle last summer, I stumbled upon a Amazon-run grocery store (I think it was located at Amazons corporate headquarters) where people didn’t have to use a cash register and could just walk in and grab their groceries, and they only had one person working their. Can you imagine what would happen if Amazon (which recently bought Whole Foods), opened those grocery stores across America, and other grocery stores adopted the same idea to remain competitive?

Oh no, what if the industry at large began to adopt this radical fringe system WHICH EVERY SAFEWAY AND HOME DEPOT ALREADY HAVE

[bagelman]

Not a bad guy. Could be a cabinet member or a bureaucrat under a good Democratic president.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I don’t want to sound like a nut, but automation is a serious problem (and has been for at least 30 years), and if the government dose not find a way to regulate it in a responsible way, it could potential destroy millions of jobs and excasterbate Americas income inequality to levels equivalent to a third world country. For example when I was on a vacation to Seattle last summer, I stumbled upon a Amazon-run grocery store (I think it was located at Amazons corporate headquarters) where people didn’t have to use a cash register and could just walk in and grab their groceries, and they only had one person working their. Can you imagine what would happen if Amazon (which recently bought Whole Foods), opened those grocery stores across America, and other grocery stores adopted the same idea to remain competitive? I can answer it for you, Millions of people in the service Industry would lose their jobs, and because the Republicans have destroyed most of our safety net (and plan on destroying the rest of it if Americans are dumb enough to give them more seats this year), most of these people would go into poverty and wind up on the street or in prison, which is exactly where the Republicans want anyone who happens to be underprivileged. And before people start saying “why don’t these people work hard and go to college and become doctors lawyers or accountants”, not everyone has the ability or opportunity to get higher education and high-end jobs, which is why we need to make sure their are professions available for people that aren’t born into privileged families.

Luddites have been saying this for centuries, and yet everyone's quality of life has increased.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Fighting technological advancement to save dying industries? Sounds like a plan that works!

[King Lear]

It’s amazing to see my fellow “Liberal Democrats”, so eager to see corporations fire all their workers and replace them with robots. Are you guys so desperate to get donations from the tech industry that your willing to through your base of Nonwhite and Poor people under the bus (most of these people work at service jobs that will be eliminated by automation) in order to prevent the DNC from going bankrupt (it’s already halfway their). This level of hypocrisy and Moral bankruptcy makes me want to join the Green Party (at least they stand for something), However, I would never do that because as much as the hypocrisy of Democrats annoys me, it’s Knowhere near as terrible as the downright Facism that defines the modern Republican Party.

[America Needs R'hllor]

It’s amazing to see my fellow “Liberal Democrats”, so eager to see corporations fire all their workers and replace them with robots. Are you guys so desperate to get donations from the tech industry that your willing to through your base of Nonwhite and Poor people under the bus (most of these people work at service jobs that will be eliminated by automation) in order to prevent the DNC from going bankrupt (it’s already halfway their). This level of hypocrisy and Moral bankruptcy makes me want to join the Green Party (at least they stand for something), However, I would never do that because as much as the hypocrisy of Democrats annoys me, it’s Knowhere near as terrible as the downright Facism that defines the modern Republican Party.

First of all, wow grammar.
Second, all we're saying is that trying to stop automation (aka natural technological advancement) by government force is never going to work and will just backfire. We need job training and creation of jobs in new industires (clean energy, tech etc). Also, at some point in the future, we will need UBI because theres just no way to keep enough jobs for everyone in a modern world. This is just the way it is, and woe to those who try to stop science by force. They'll only bring themselves ruin.

[President Johnson]

Who?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Finally, a Democrat I can enthusiastically support.

[Tintrlvr]

But what’s his position on the zombie apocalypse??

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

He is not really wrong, although I disagree with some specifics. As a society, we have entered an era of unprecedented productivity, communication, knowledge, and wealth. We need to change our assumptions about work, jobs, and money or we are going to be overwhelmed by changes outside of our control.

[kyc0705]

Nobody has ever waged a victorious campaign AGAINST the progression of technology.

[beaver2.0]

I don’t want to sound like a nut, but automation is a serious problem (and has been for at least 30 years), and if the government dose not find a way to regulate it in a responsible way, it could potential destroy millions of jobs and excasterbate Americas income inequality to levels equivalent to a third world country. For example when I was on a vacation to Seattle last summer, I stumbled upon a Amazon-run grocery store (I think it was located at Amazons corporate headquarters) where people didn’t have to use a cash register and could just walk in and grab their groceries, and they only had one person working their. Can you imagine what would happen if Amazon (which recently bought Whole Foods), opened those grocery stores across America, and other grocery stores adopted the same idea to remain competitive? I can answer it for you, Millions of people in the service Industry would lose their jobs, and because the Republicans have destroyed most of our safety net (and plan on destroying the rest of it if Americans are dumb enough to give them more seats this year), most of these people would go into poverty and wind up on the street or in prison, which is exactly where the Republicans want anyone who happens to be underprivileged. And before people start saying “why don’t these people work hard and go to college and become doctors lawyers or accountants”, not everyone has the ability or opportunity to get higher education and high-end jobs, which is why we need to make sure their are professions available for people that aren’t born into privileged families.

Luddites have been saying this for centuries, and yet everyone's quality of life has increased.

And they haven't always been wrong.  The transition to factories in the industrial revolution destroyed livelihoods, but did provide jobs in exchange.   Automation, however, is not a trade-off that will create jobs.  I honestly don't think a future without employment is a good thing.

[America Needs R'hllor]

His ad / intro video here is titled "Humanity First":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhArPPmHjCs

From the thread title/posts in this thread I didn't expect this to be such a solid campaign video.  It's a lot less "fear-mongering robots are taking our jobs" campaign and more of a "We need Universal Basic Income to help offset the job losses due to automation."

Unfortunate to see a campaign focused on Universal Basic Income to be quickly mocked as a "robot apocalypse" campaign.  Clearly it's a long shot campaign and he's likely not going to be elected president; but that's more due to him being politically inexperienced with no name recognition, not due to the campaign issues he's running on.

Wow, I actually just had time to watch it too, and this is really not a campaign about trying to foolishly stop technology like some posters here suggested, but UBI. While I don't think that it's the right time for this program and won't support Young, this video is very, very well-done.

[henster]

We are decades away from the point where UBI would even be needed. The whole need for it rings hollow when the US is at full employment right now.

[Holy Unifying Centrist]

eitc is better than ubi