Former presidential candidate happened to be in Mountain View on Saturday (September 25, 2021) for a Universal Basic Income rally while UBI supporters across the country in different cities were also holding rallies and marches.
At the rally, many speakers, including Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga, Yang closed out the rally with a speech for about 20 minutes discussing the need for Universal Basic Income and that our government, especially in our polarized political environment, is failing to address the needs of the American people.
With the established Democratic and Republican parties and their primary systems catered to the 20% of the extremes on both sides, Yang called for the need for open primaries and for ranked choice voting. With these systemic changes, those running or in public office could be held more accountable to the vast majority of voters who aren’t looking for left or right solutions, but moving forward (alluding to one of his presidential campaign’s slogans, “Not left. Not right. Forward.”). Prior to the rally, Yang answered the question of him forming a new political party with the same kind of messaging:
Yang didn’t directly answer the question but stated that he’s trying to provide a middle ground for most Americans who want solutions and are tired of the polarization. We’re most likely to learn more about Yang’s future political plans when his new book is launched on October 5th:
Yang will also be doing a cross country book tour after the launch, from October 5th to October 27, including: New York City, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, Irvine, and Des Moines.
