MERRIMACK – After putting $1,000 in the hands of every American each month and combating climate change, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang on Wednesday told Merrimack voters that his next top priority would be universal health care.

Yang said Americans are spending twice as much as those in other countries on health care for worse results. This leaves many Americans in a position where they cannot change jobs, retire or start businesses – locking some people in place.

While trillions of dollars are spent on health care, people across the country are struggling to pay their medical bills, and in some cases, getting driven into bankruptcy. In recognizing this growing issue, Yang believes in providing universal health care, and taking money from those trillions of dollars spent to start applying funds toward preventive care and initiatives to make people stronger and healthier.

“We could get universal health care to Americans very, very quickly if we take the waste and excess of the system that is going to these companies and actually put it toward our own care,” Yang said.

Prior to entering the race, Yang, being a numbers kind of guy, began examining why President Donald Trump won the election in 2016. Aside from having a passion for mathematics, Yang is also in tune with the rapidly changing technology in terms of artificial intelligence and technology companies profiting from people’s data.

As technology advances, Yang believes jobs will continue to be lost to automation. He believes this in part a result of a trip he took to Washington, D.C., which occurred before he decided to run for president. While in the nation’s capital, he recalls three responses he received:

• “We cannot talk about this;”

• “We should study this further;”

• “We must educate and retrain all American’s for the jobs of the future.”

However, one response he received during that trip stuck with him, and Yang cited that for the reason he stood before voters at Merrimack High School Wednesday night.

“He said Andrew, you’re in the wrong town,” Yang recalled. “No one here is going to do anything about this because fundamentally, this is a town of followers, not leaders, and the only way we will do something about it is if you were to create a wave in other parts of the country and bring that wave crashing down on our heads.”

Yang said that Trump won in part because he said he wanted to “drain the swamp.”

“I want to do something a little bit different,” Yang said. “I want to distribute the swamp.”

He questions why the nation is spending money employing thousands of people in the most expensive city in the country – Washington, D.C. He believes those people, jobs and resources should be distributed to places across the country that would love to have those jobs, such as Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Yang believes the costs would then be much lower, and would argue these agencies operating in Washington, D.C. would make better decisions because they would then be living some place “normal.”

Yang also reiterated a message he has previously mentioned during stops along the campaign trail, in that current economic measurements are not telling what is going on in various communities across the country, citing Merrimack’s water quality problem as an example. Yang believes it is best not to confuse economic value and human value, and told voters he that as their president he will rewrite the rules of the nation’s economic measurements.

“As your president, I will measure our economic progress by how our kids are doing, clean air and clean water, mental health and freedom from substance abuse, the proportion of Americans who can retire with dignity, wellness and life expectancy,” Yang said. “I will make these the new measurements of the economy and I will present them to you all at the State of the Union every year.”

After his speech and some questions from audience members, Yang made time for questions from members of the press before taking selfies with people who had already formed a line, patiently waiting to pose for a picture with the presidential candidate. During this time he was questioned about Iran. Yang told a group of media persons that he is on record saying that the strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani was a mistake and disproportionate in response to provocations that preceded it.

“I think Americans are deeply concerned about the process that led us all to feel we were on the brink of war,” Yang said. “We need a commander in chief with a different temperament, and priorities and values.”

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

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