‘My phone is blowing up,’ Andrew Yang says as federal officials explore cash payouts to Americans

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang often spoke about giving each American adult $1,000 a month to plan for a future when automation replaced human workers.

Now he’s offering his help to the White House on its proposal to give cash payments to Americans so they — and the economy — can better weather the pandemic.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said the federal government was looking into “sending checks to Americans immediately” as part of a $1-trillion stimulus proposal from the Trump administration to combat the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

Soon after the proposal’s details became public, Yang tweeted, “My phone is blowing up.”

Politics

Andrew Yang wants to give you $1,000 a month

2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang is little known but loved by his “Yang Gang.” He has qualified for the Democratic debates while some lawmakers did not.

Sept. 5, 2019

Mnuchin said details would be announced soon about the timing and size of the checks. He suggested the amounts would be larger than the $1,000 payments proposed recently. There’s no indication that the checks would be more than a one-time payment, not resembling Yang’s plan for a monthly income.

But the entrepreneur later put out a statement through his nonprofit organization Humanity First to express his support. He said his team is in touch with the White House and offering its resources.

“I’m pleased to see the White House adopt our vision of putting money directly into the hands of hard-working Americans,” Yang said in the statement.

“It’s unfortunate to see this development take place under the current circumstances, but this is exactly what Universal Basic Income is designed to do — offer a way to ensure that Americans can make ends meet when they need it most.”