WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL) - Iowa is nearly two weeks away from their statewide caucus. One of the Democratic Presidential Candidates continued his bus tour through Waterloo today.
Nearly 200 people packed into Lark Brewing to hear Andrew Yang speak on his biggest topics while running for presidency. Yang spoke on a variety of issues from investing in rural America to the affects of industrial automation.
“How many of you have been to Iowa 80 in Davenport? They say that probably 5,000 people stop there every day,” says Yang. “How many people will stop there when the trucks aren’t driven by people? It’s going to go down and down.”
The public also had the opportunity to speak and ask Yang questions on his campaign viewpoints. Alexis Buss, who works as a nurse, agrees with Yang’s “Freedom Dividend.”
“People have to work so hard to get ahead, and I just think that an extra $1000 a month is really going to help people flourish and help them become everything they want to be and more,” says Buss.
Yang calls his Freedom Dividend program a form of Universal Basic Income. It’s a payment of a $1000 a month to every U.S. citizen over the age of 18. The program would be paid for by VAT’s. A Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the production of goods or services and business produces.
KWWL asked Yang, “What will keep companies from inflating prices?” Yang believes market competitiveness will keep prices from changing.
“We’re going to be price sensitive even with this $1000 a month and as long as its a competitive market it’s not that companies are going to be able to stick it to us on price.”
Yang also talked about the U.S. being in the fourth industrial revolution. This revolution deals with the new technology of today. Yang says one of the biggest threats to jobs in Iowa are from automation.
“Iowa’s already lost 10,000 retail jobs to automation, you don’t think of those as automation. However, malls closed because of Amazon, automation can already change the economy here in Iowa and many can sense that,” says Yang.
Yang wrapped up his town halls for the weekend in Van Meter on Sunday.