2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang is using his campaign to warn America about the potentially damaging impact automation could have on the economy — and he's putting an emphasis on truck drivers.
What he's saying: "What are the truck drivers going to do when the robot trucks come and start driving themselves?” Yang asked at a recent rural issues forum in Stuart, Iowa. Yang says the country needs a plan to manage the loss of these jobs, describing truck driving as the "most common job in 29 states."
The California-based candidate says that more auto companies are investing in autonomous vehicle technology, and that includes those in the trucking industry. Yang claims that if the country doesn't work to ease the transition to self-driving vehicles, at least 3 million truck drivers could lose their jobs.
Yang is proposing a universal basic income plan, which he brands as the "Freedom Dividend," to help offset the job loss caused by automation. His plan would give $1,000 each month to every U.S. adult up to age 64, funded in part by a 10% "value added tax" on technology companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.
There are 3.5 million truck drivers in America. Another 5 million work in the truck stops, motels, and diners that serve the truckers and their vehicles.
— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) February 28, 2019
What happens to the local economies when those trucks don't stop anymore? This is not science fiction. This is real life. pic.twitter.com/ZA10DpMru2
Why it matters: Some of Yang's 80 policy suggestions touch on traditional topics like health care and public education, but many are tech-driven, setting him apart from other candidates.
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