HOLLIS – Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang of New York wants to be known for more than his plan to give each and every American $1,000 per month – although he certainly is not backing away from it.

Tuesday, Yang joined fellow presidential hopeful Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania to address Hollis Democrats at the Lawrence Barn Community Center during the second Harvest Fundraiser. During his speech, Yang spoke about the economic condition of the country, going as far as to say that President Donald Trump is not the problem, but only a symptom of decades of lost wealth in the middle class.

“I’m a numbers guy and the numbers tell a very clear and distinct story,” Yang said. “The reason why Donald Trump is our president today is we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri.”

“What happened to those manufacturing jobs is now happening to retail jobs, call center jobs and other jobs in the economy,” Yang continued.

He said those jobs are being lost to companies such as Amazon, which, Yang said, did pay any taxes last year.

“So unfortunately, we’re reduced to treating Donald Trump like he’s the cause to all our problems. He is not – he is a symptom. He is man of the station,” Yang said. “As artificial intelligence leaves the lab and starts hitting businesses, it is going to get much much worse.”

To fund his proposed $1,000 monthly payments, Yang said the country would be able to use data, artificial intelligence and information the same way Alaska, which provides $1,000 to $2,000 a year to its residents using oil profits, does.

Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania is also seeking the Democratic nomination. He is a retired U.S. Navy admiral who, as a part of his campaign, is currently walking east to west across the Granite State.

“I wore the cloth for our country for 31 years, in war and in peace, and I loved it,” Sestak said. “I was on the ground in Afghanistan when the war began.”

Sestak mentioned his time working as President Bill Clinton’s director for defense policy on the National Security Council for approximately three years.

Sestak spoke anecdotally about his family’s struggles with the health care system, citing his daughter’s battle with glioblastoma, a brain cancer, which she twice survived.

He said in order to serve his country after his time in the Navy, he became a Democratic member of the U.S. House.

“We kept our office open, seven days a week, until 9 o’clock every night,” Sestak said.

Mathew Plamondon may be reached at 594-1244, or at mplamondon@nashuatelegraph.com, @telegraph_MatP.

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