Andrew Yang before the debate in Atlanta

Near the start of campaigning season, I was trying to figure out what I wanted in my next president and frankly it did not look like Andrew Yang at all. I initially wanted someone whose campaign was more foreign policy minded like Gabbard or Sestak even though both of them weren’t campaigning at that time. I wanted somebody with at least a couple terms spent in Congress under their belt and a progressive voting record.

I’ve always prided myself on my ability to discern between genuine and disingenuous people. When I watched my first long-form interview of Andrew’s I was completely dumbfounded by how remarkably aware he was of the economy, technology, domestic policy, different types of taxation, and at the same time he came across as personable and down to Earth. This wasn’t merely somebody who just dropped a slew of statistics, but he understood and can vividly interpret those statistics and explain them in such a simplistic manner without being remotely condescending.

I can’t properly articulate just how engrossing all these long-form interviews were, but I imagine it’s kind of like discovering the cathartic euphoria of binge-watching for the first time. I reminded myself that this guy doesn’t have any experience in government and that’s what I was actually looking for, but as I tried to support other candidates it felt morally wrong leaving Yang. Literally, it felt wrong.

I acknowledge that it sounds completely absurd. A lot of other Yang supporters can sympathize regarding the whole “ another businessman” thing because most supporters wanted what I described up in the first paragraph. Why Yang?

First let’s dispel some notions. No, having plenty of government experience doesn’t mean you will make a great president. Presidents that have had at least 20 years of government experience prior to their presidency: Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Andrew Johnson, John Quincy Adams, Gerald Ford, James Buchanan. The common theme is they were either awful or completely forgettable. I should note the two exceptions Lyndon B.Johnson, who undeniably had a mixed legacy and Thomas Jefferson.

On the other side, Theodore Roosevelt had 4 years of experience and FDR had five years of experience, Eisenhower had never held political office, but was obviously one of the best Generals in U.S. history and these men were some of our best presidents. The probably over-done point being that being a good president isn’t inextricably linked to certain concrete factors. It’s a little more ambiguous and nuanced than people suggest.

Andrew Yang received an A+ rating from Equal Citizens for his democracy reform policies. First let’s acknowledge that a guy with zero prior political experience scored the highest score here. You’d think that anybody that was within the legislative system would be able to outscore somebody who’s often disregarded as merely a “businessman.” This further highlights my point that holding political office isn’t exactly necessary and doesn’t mean that one is incapable of being a good president if he or she is without previous experience.

Now to Yang’s bread and butter, the “Freedom Dividend.” It’s remarkable how a relatively unknown entrepreneur has shifted the Overton Window in regards to UBI within the span of a year. Without Andrew Yang, I’m pretty confident that the idea of UBI wouldn’t have been mentioned during the debates let alone in anybody’s campaign.

For those of who don’t know, Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend, consists of a dividend of a thousand dollars a month to every citizen 18 or over till death, and this is to help people transition when most of them will get displaced due to automation. While Yang, focuses on this through the lens of automation most of the time, it’s when he focuses on UBI through a utopian lens that really resonates with me.$12,000 a year would effectively raise just about everybody above the Federal Poverty Level.

The guy who wrote your Econ Textbook, Harvard Professor and world renowned macro-economist, recently decided to become a democrat and he has also endorsed Yang’s “Freedom Dividend” and also the way he implements it through a value-added tax. The value-added tax is a necessity because it’s practically unavoidable by the rich and the corporations that are paying zero in taxes. It’s an easily more implementable than a wealth tax because with a wealth tax one has to be extremely optimistic that billionaires won’t leave the country, won’t participate in capital flight, or won’t resort to tax paradises. That and it’s wildly cumbersome.

It’s evident already, Yang has done his homework and if this doesn’t strike you that he has then just look at all 150 plus policies on his site. Presidential Andrew Yang is equivalent to that kid that you sat next to when you took the SAT, and he had a five hour energy, he actually showered, has a brand new pack of pencils on his desk, and a calculator that’s the size of an ipad. Sorry Beto, but if anybody was born to run, it’s Andrew Yang.

Take your time looking at his policy page and please don’t just merely scan it. Then, right after, remove all the things you previously know about Andrew and watch his debate highlights. I did this and what particularly struck me during this was not only how comfortable he sounded, but he sounded like he truly belonged up there and he was winning. Nobody else got Warren as flustered as Yang did. Bernie didn’t rebut him when Yang mentioned the Federal Job’s guarantee and it’s shortcomings. Bernie always rebuts!

If Yang has piqued your interest I suggest the following:

Watch just about any long-form interview with Andrew Yang, either H3H3 podcast, Hot 97 Andrew Yang, Joe Rogan, Eric Weinstein’s The Portal podcast, and etc. Read his book The War on Normal People. Follow him on Social Media Post either mentioning Yang Gang and all of a sudden a hundred people will comment on your post within half an hour or pm me on Twitter @Doloyashi

While Andrew Yang’s campaign may seem like it’s terrible timing because Trump, who by the way is an anomaly, has ruined the idea of a businessman running for office, it’s actually the perfect timing because technology is rapidly advancing, our life expectancy is declining, suicide and drug overdoses are at a record high, and Yang has the policies that will most effectively not only get us back to normal, but also advance our society and our sense of humanity.

The character between these two are starkly different and it’s reflected in the way they ran their business and the nature of their business. A nonprofit CEO that helped small businesses grow in areas that were devastated by the recession and automation vs. a cut throat and dishonest real estate mogul, who once referred to a million dollars as “small.” Trump wishes to advance his fortune, while Yang embodies this reluctant Messiah figure. My message would be to not discount this man because his intentions and motivations are pure and he’s wholly qualified for the office due to his solution driven platform, his undoubtedly once-in-a-lifetime intellect, his futuristic approach, and his understanding of today’s problems.