This is continued from part one.

https://cn.yang2020.com/what-is-ubi/

Andrew Yang wants Universal Basic Income because we are experiencing the greatest technological shift the world has ever seen. By 2015, automation had already destroyed four million manufacturing jobs, and the smartest people in the world now predict that a third of all working Americans will lose their job to automation in the next 12 years. Our current policies are not equipped to handle this crisis. Even our most forward-thinking politicians are unprepared.

As technology improves, workers will be able to stop doing the most dangerous, repetitive, and boring jobs. This should excite us, but if Americans have no source of income — no ability to pay for groceries, buy homes, save for education, or start families with confidence — then the future could be very dark. Our labor participation rate now is only 62.7% – lower than it has been in decades, with 1 out of 5 working-age men currently out of the workforce. This will get much worse as self-driving cars and other technologies come online.

I don't know enough about economics to know if automation is going to unemploy as many people as he suggests or for how long, and I don't know if his proposal is the right solution or not. The point is that he is acknowledging the large number of men who are dropping out of the workforce as low-skilled jobs disappear.

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/trucking-czar/

Over 3 million Americans work as truck drivers, and over 7 million are employed related to trucking activity. Self-driving truck technology is rapidly becoming sophisticated enough to replace these drivers, and the economy is not prepared to absorb the loss of so many jobs. Truck drivers are 94% male, average age 49, average education high school or one year of college – there are not necessarily other opportunities for them that will pay a comparable salary. Additionally, hundreds of communities are built around the trucking industry, and those communities are also at risk from the coming automation.

We need to implement a plan for how to handle the loss of these jobs, and we have to do it soon. Some estimates have the mass production of these vehicles as occurring within the decade. This has potential for serious unrest if not handled properly.

Truck driving is the most common job in 29 states. As automation improves, millions of American workers’ livelihoods are at stake. We need to engineer a smooth transition for these millions of workers so that their contributions are recognized and that they benefit from some of the new efficiencies and cost-savings. Handled correctly, the automation of truck driving could be celebrated as a positive thing even by any of the workers involved.

This is another serious problem that could, at least in theory, lead to the displacement of millions of currently employed men across the country.

Follow this link to see part three.