Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is making universal basic income a central point in his political campaign – this time for the mayor of New York.
“It makes us stronger, healthier, safer, mentally healthier, improves our relationships,” Yang said of the concept of guaranteed income. “55% of Americans are now for cash relief, forever, and 85% are for cash relief during this pandemic.”
Yang’s proposed revenue program would extend an average of $ 2,000 a year to New Yorkers living in extreme poverty and costing $ 1 billion a year, according to the campaign’s website.
The mayoral candidate told CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith on Monday night that he would target New York City property tax-free landlords, such as Madison Square Garden, to pay a portion of the bill.
MSG’s tax exemptions [are] “$ 40 million a year alone,” Yang said. If you look at the money and get it back into the city’s hands, and you invest a certain amount of resources in the city, we can alleviate the extreme poverty here in New York. ”
Yang also commented on the dramatic increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the US, calling it ‘a devastating time in the Asian-American community’.
According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, reports of anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 149% in 2020 and 2020. According to police data, New York City recorded an 833% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.
“We need to label these incidents as hate crimes, and we need to build connections with the Asian American community, because many of these incidents are still not reported, I do not hate them,” Yang said. “A lot of Asian Americans don’t have that kind of relationship with law enforcement and city officials, and I want to change that.”