NASHUA – In the age of artificial intelligence and an increasing number of jobs being lost to technology, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to put $1,000 in the pockets of every American every month.

While speaking to voters during a town hall-style event at the Nashua Public Library on Monday, Yang described how this plan will positively impact people, while also discussing how it can be achieved. Many may believe this will never happen, labeling it “too good to be true.”

The event was sponsored by The Telegraph, the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, Rivier University and Fidelity Investments.

Yang maintains the $1,000 per month concept is not his idea, nor is it new. Alaska currently provides its residents an annual dividend through the Alaska Permanent Fund, which consists of oil revenue.

However, Yang suggests that the oil of the 21st century is technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and software, citing a recent study claiming that data is worth more than oil. While some of these technologies are on the rise, some jobs are on the decline. This could soon impact fields beyond manufacturing, such as bookkeeping jobs and call center jobs.

“We’re in the midst of the greatest economic transformation in the history of our country because, what happened to the manufacturing jobs is not stopping there,” Yang said. “It’s now heading to retail, call centers, fast food, truck driving and on and on through the economy.”

When Yang began exploring the reason President Donald Trump won the 2016 Electoral College, Yang saw the economy, and the millions of manufacturing jobs that were automated away through the years. Many of these jobs lost were based in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. These are so-called “battleground states,” all of which Trump carried in 2016.

This is why Yang wants to invest in the people, and believes that if one does not understand the real problems facing Americans, they will not be able to solve them. Yang also believes he has a clearer understanding of what lies ahead for this country, making him the best Democrat to serve in the Oval Office.

“If we have the wrong person in that seat, we’re going to have another four years of your malls closing, of AI getting smarter, of the robot trucks starting to multiply on the highways, and that as this continues, it’s going to get harder and harder for us to actually put in place a path that lets Americans know that we are not going to be left behind – that we’re actually the owners and shareholders of this country,” Yang said.

Yang said at a time when big technology companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google get larger and larger, Yang said the checks for people’s data went to these mega-tech companies, who are paying zero or nearly zero in taxes.

In demanding people get their fair share for their data from which these companies are profiting, he said it is equally important to put that value into the people’s hands.

This is why he wants to put $1,000 per month in the hands of every American, and said a lot of that money will likely stay in local communities. Yang believes this money will be used on car repairs, Little League enrollment, daycare expenses, etc., which in turn, can create sustainable paths for rural areas. In addition, Yang believes this money can also make people stronger and healthier.

While corporate profits are at record highs today, Yang acknowledges that in the U.S. inequality is also on the rise. This comes in the forms of student loans, suicides, drug overdoses and financial insecurity.

“These are the things people are experiencing on the ground, and it’s only going to accelerate as artificial intelligence leaves the lab and starts hitting the economy in earnest,” Yang said.

For Yang, this is not just a blue-collar problem, as he said artificial intelligence can do the work of bookkeepers, accountants, radiologists and even attorneys.

“We have to start measuring how our economy is doing based upon how you are all doing to see how it’s working,” Yang said.

As it is, while corporate profits reach these record highs, some studies show U.S. life expectancy is declining. If gross domestic product (GDP) is the measurement, yet has less and less of a relationship with how Americans are doing, Yang wants to look at this in terms of how people and their families are actually living. This could be measured in terms of mental health, freedom from substance use disorder, health and life expectancy, the ability to retire with dignity, access to clean air and clean water.

Yang said Americans are being told how great GDP, unemployment and stock market prices are. However, these factors may not have much impact on the condition of individual people.

“We can actually make these measurements of our society, and as your president, that’s exactly what I’ll do,” Yang said. “I’ll say, ‘GDP’s 100 years old. It’s time for an upgrade – it’s past overdue – here’s how we will measure our progress now.'”

Yang believes in accelerating the economy and society as quickly as possible to rise to the real challenges of this era.

However, many still wonder how Yang plans to afford issuing $1,000 to every American across the country. However, Yang then asked the audience how many of them remember voting on the trillions of dollars used to bail out Wall Street in 2008 and 2009.

Yang also cited another study that showed if poverty is alleviated in this way, it can then increase GDP by hundreds of billions more, just on the basis of better health and education outcomes.

Yang believes the most important thing about who Americans select as their president is whether that person understands the real problems on the ground as people are experiencing them. Does the person offer real solutions to such problems.

“We are growing while other campaigns are shrinking because we are solving the actual problems that got Donald Trump elected, and we have real solutions that would help move the country forward,” Yang said.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.

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