WEBVTT - Extreme Poverty in New York City is Solvable 0:00:15.076 --> 0:00:25.596 Pushkin, this is solvable. On Jacob Weisberg, we're pledging one 0:00:25.676 --> 0:00:29.436 billion dollars per year to alleviate extreme poverty in New 0:00:29.516 --> 0:00:33.356 York City. New York's problems are a microcosm of America's 0:00:33.356 --> 0:00:36.676 economic challenges. But how far we'll even a billion dollars 0:00:36.716 --> 0:00:39.756 get us in the biggest city in the country. Across 0:00:39.796 --> 0:00:44.396 the country, millions more people are struggling with unemployment, unpaid bills, 0:00:44.476 --> 0:00:47.356 and sometimes hunger. And for those who are poor to 0:00:47.396 --> 0:00:50.796 begin with, things maybe even worse. If a family winds 0:00:50.876 --> 0:00:53.916 up in our shelter system, we are spending six thousand 0:00:53.916 --> 0:00:57.916 dollars per month on that family, And so if you 0:00:58.316 --> 0:01:00.956 spend a fraction of that keeping someone in their home 0:01:01.116 --> 0:01:02.876 and they don't wind up in our shelter system, it's 0:01:02.876 --> 0:01:06.076 actually a win. Andrew Yang became a household name running 0:01:06.076 --> 0:01:09.556 for president on a platform of a guaranteed income for everyone. 0:01:10.236 --> 0:01:12.636 Now he's running for mayor of New York City, and 0:01:12.756 --> 0:01:15.876 his message is similar. He wants to get cash into 0:01:15.956 --> 0:01:19.476 the hands of people who need it urgently. Eleven US 0:01:19.556 --> 0:01:22.916 cities have committed to versions of cash assistance programs or 0:01:22.956 --> 0:01:28.396 guaranteed income, including Stockton, California, Hudson, New York, Saint Paul, 0:01:28.476 --> 0:01:31.036 and Pittsburgh. Eighty five percent of Americans are for a 0:01:31.076 --> 0:01:34.156 cash relief during the pandemic, and fifty five percent are 0:01:34.236 --> 0:01:36.996 for an in perpetuity. Is this another example of something 0:01:36.996 --> 0:01:39.596 where you just have to invent a local version of 0:01:39.636 --> 0:01:44.956 it because the more rationalized national solution isn't available to you. Well, 0:01:44.956 --> 0:01:47.956 you said it, I didn't, Jacob. New York is a 0:01:47.996 --> 0:01:50.876 city with over eight million people. If something works here, 0:01:51.036 --> 0:01:54.596 it could work anywhere. Yang's plan could provide a powerful 0:01:54.636 --> 0:01:58.116 case study for the rest of the country. I'm Andrew Yang, 0:01:58.196 --> 0:02:01.556 and my solvable is extreme poverty in New York City. 0:02:01.756 --> 0:02:06.436 We can solve it, we can eradicate it. Andrew Yang 0:02:06.516 --> 0:02:09.036 is pushing for a new kind of universal basic income. 0:02:09.436 --> 0:02:13.436 This time it's targeted, which is an oxymoron. How can 0:02:13.476 --> 0:02:18.196 you support something universally but deliver it selectively. I started 0:02:18.236 --> 0:02:21.276 by asking him to explain how something like UBI could 0:02:21.316 --> 0:02:24.036 work in New York City. So you do have to 0:02:24.356 --> 0:02:27.596 draw lines and parameters. You know, it's not feasible for 0:02:27.676 --> 0:02:29.756 us to give all eight point three million New Yorkers 0:02:30.356 --> 0:02:32.916 a certain amount of cash, So we are targeting the 0:02:33.036 --> 0:02:37.076 half a million New Yorkers who are in extreme poverty, 0:02:37.196 --> 0:02:40.676 and our goal is to lift them up so that 0:02:40.716 --> 0:02:43.596 they have at least a certain baseline level of resources. 0:02:43.636 --> 0:02:46.556 It's more of a guaranteed minimum income in New York 0:02:46.596 --> 0:02:48.996 City than it is a universal basic income that we're 0:02:49.036 --> 0:02:51.916 looking to implement. And where do you set the baseline? 0:02:51.956 --> 0:02:54.636 What would be the monthly payment to someone now in 0:02:54.716 --> 0:02:58.676 extreme poverty in New York City. So the monthly payment 0:02:59.236 --> 0:03:02.756 to get the five hundred thousand porous New Yorkers out 0:03:02.796 --> 0:03:06.716 of extreme poverty averages out to two thousand dollars per 0:03:06.756 --> 0:03:12.356 person per year. So we're pledging one billion dollars per 0:03:12.436 --> 0:03:15.636 year to alleviate extreme poverty in New York City. And 0:03:15.796 --> 0:03:18.556 just in terms of the numbers, can two thousand dollars 0:03:18.596 --> 0:03:21.196 really lift someone out of poverty? That doesn't sound like 0:03:21.196 --> 0:03:24.156 a lot of money, especially in New York spread over 0:03:24.196 --> 0:03:27.956 a year. Well, extreme poverty is defined as half the 0:03:28.116 --> 0:03:33.156 poverty level, and so you have people that are making five, 0:03:33.316 --> 0:03:35.716 eight ten thousand dollars a year that two thousand dollars 0:03:35.756 --> 0:03:38.356 a year would be an extraordinary boost for them. And 0:03:38.396 --> 0:03:40.516 the two thousand dollars is an average level. Some will 0:03:40.556 --> 0:03:43.196 get one, some will get three. It pushes them to 0:03:43.916 --> 0:03:48.236 a level where they're very very basic needs have a 0:03:48.316 --> 0:03:51.196 higher chance of being met. But we have a comprehensive 0:03:51.236 --> 0:03:54.996 anti poverty agenda to supplement this cash relief. If you 0:03:55.036 --> 0:03:57.636 look at the population who struggling with poverty in New 0:03:57.716 --> 0:04:00.716 York City, it overlaps very heavily with the twelve percent 0:04:00.836 --> 0:04:03.796 of New York City residents who are unbanked. And a 0:04:03.796 --> 0:04:08.076 lot of this population is undocumented where they're scared to 0:04:08.076 --> 0:04:11.436 try and access basic financial services because they're afraid that 0:04:11.476 --> 0:04:14.516 they'll get targeted in some way. So right now they're 0:04:14.516 --> 0:04:17.436 spending hundreds of dollars a year that they don't have, 0:04:17.556 --> 0:04:21.796 in some cases even thousands on check cashers, money lenders, 0:04:21.956 --> 0:04:25.196 pawn shops that are charging you serious rates. So we 0:04:25.276 --> 0:04:29.996 can simultaneously integrate more of the New Yorkers who are 0:04:29.996 --> 0:04:33.036 struggling the most into our financial system in a way 0:04:33.076 --> 0:04:35.396 that gets them away from these check cashers and money 0:04:35.436 --> 0:04:38.236 lenders that are charging them and also get some money 0:04:38.236 --> 0:04:40.996 into their hands to help meet their basic needs. Yeah, 0:04:41.036 --> 0:04:42.916 and I know you have this interesting idea of a 0:04:42.956 --> 0:04:46.476 people's bank. Can you explain how that would work in 0:04:46.516 --> 0:04:52.196 New York? So the People's Bank is nonprofit fund that 0:04:52.236 --> 0:04:56.596 we will use to augment the resources available to community 0:04:56.676 --> 0:05:00.356 development financial institutions, which includes credit unions, and a lot 0:05:00.396 --> 0:05:04.756 of these CDFIs are doing great work reducing the unbanked 0:05:04.756 --> 0:05:07.756 population because they're in these communities. They're trying to plug 0:05:07.796 --> 0:05:12.076 people in to the financial system, and so the People's 0:05:12.116 --> 0:05:14.156 Bank is a way to get more resources to the 0:05:14.276 --> 0:05:16.716 organizations that are touching people and doing the work every day. 0:05:16.956 --> 0:05:18.556 The other thing that the People's Bank is going to 0:05:18.596 --> 0:05:21.156 do is it's going to work with traditional financial institutions 0:05:21.156 --> 0:05:25.836 to have a safe bank account for folks of any status. 0:05:25.996 --> 0:05:27.796 So you can walk into a city bank with an 0:05:27.796 --> 0:05:30.956 id NYC open to save bank account under the People's 0:05:30.956 --> 0:05:34.716 Bank brand name of the People's Bank seal. So it's 0:05:34.716 --> 0:05:37.436 a way to integrate people in the financial system by 0:05:37.476 --> 0:05:42.276 getting more resources to community organizations and also having like 0:05:42.316 --> 0:05:45.676 a trusted seal that will give them confidence that they 0:05:45.676 --> 0:05:48.156 can get a bank account even at like they're a 0:05:48.196 --> 0:05:51.356 local branch. A lot of people talk about doing that 0:05:51.476 --> 0:05:54.396 nationally through the post office, which is in fact what 0:05:54.436 --> 0:05:56.516 they do in some other countries. In France, I know 0:05:56.596 --> 0:05:59.156 you can do your banking at a small scale at 0:05:59.156 --> 0:06:01.956 the post office. Is this another example of something where 0:06:01.996 --> 0:06:04.516 you just have to invent a local version of it 0:06:04.596 --> 0:06:09.676 because the more rationalized national solution isn't available to you. Well, 0:06:09.756 --> 0:06:13.116 you said it, I didn't, Jacob, but I was for 0:06:13.396 --> 0:06:17.516 postal banking when I was running for president. It's common sense, 0:06:17.556 --> 0:06:19.796 the no brainer. Other countries do it. You know, you 0:06:19.836 --> 0:06:22.076 have to give the post office like more things to do, frankly, 0:06:22.316 --> 0:06:23.756 like in a lot of these places, because like you 0:06:23.796 --> 0:06:27.476 know that the carriage of mail isn't necessarily sustaining it. 0:06:27.796 --> 0:06:30.756 And so let's say that you have that vision running 0:06:30.756 --> 0:06:32.636 for president, and then you're like, hey, I'm running for 0:06:32.676 --> 0:06:34.316 mayor of New York City, Now, like, what can we 0:06:34.356 --> 0:06:37.516 do that's going to try and solve some of the 0:06:37.596 --> 0:06:41.756 same problems. And that's actually a pretty good example of 0:06:42.156 --> 0:06:45.076 the way we're approaching New York City's problems is obviously 0:06:45.116 --> 0:06:48.196 you have different operating realities, you have different levels of resources, 0:06:48.436 --> 0:06:50.236 But what can you do with the resources that you 0:06:50.276 --> 0:06:53.076 have that actually solve some of the same problems. New 0:06:53.156 --> 0:06:55.876 York presents a special case, Andrew, because it's such an 0:06:55.876 --> 0:06:59.596 expensive place to live, and based on studies I've read 0:06:59.596 --> 0:07:02.236 in the past, for people who didn't go to college. 0:07:03.116 --> 0:07:06.156 There are very few jobs in New York, in the 0:07:06.236 --> 0:07:09.436 New York area that provide a middle class income first family. 0:07:09.516 --> 0:07:13.076 I think the unionized building trades are, you know, probably 0:07:13.116 --> 0:07:17.476 the only major source of middle class something resembling a 0:07:17.516 --> 0:07:20.756 middle class living for people who don't have college degrees. 0:07:21.156 --> 0:07:24.596 Does your plan really address the depth of that problem, 0:07:24.636 --> 0:07:26.756 that there's just a mismatch between what a cost to 0:07:26.836 --> 0:07:29.876 live here and what jobs pay if you if you 0:07:29.916 --> 0:07:33.076 don't have some higher education. Well, Jacob, you're you're pointing 0:07:33.076 --> 0:07:36.956 out some of the long running problems in New York City, 0:07:37.436 --> 0:07:40.356 and they're all tied together. So one thing you're describing 0:07:40.436 --> 0:07:44.116 is you have an economy that disproportionately will reward folks 0:07:44.116 --> 0:07:48.036 who are skilled and have certain levels of education. And 0:07:48.076 --> 0:07:49.996 that's true nationwide, but it's it's more true in New 0:07:50.076 --> 0:07:52.556 York City. To your point, the fact that there are 0:07:52.676 --> 0:07:56.996 actually meaningful unions and organizations fighting for folks who don't 0:07:56.996 --> 0:08:00.676 have college degrees has been an enormous path to the 0:08:00.676 --> 0:08:04.116 middle class for ten hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, 0:08:04.476 --> 0:08:06.276 and that actually distinguishes New York from a lot of 0:08:06.276 --> 0:08:09.236 other environments. I mean, like like, the unions are a 0:08:09.316 --> 0:08:12.556 more powerful presence for mobility here than they are in 0:08:12.596 --> 0:08:15.436 other parts of the country. So then you have folks 0:08:15.436 --> 0:08:18.516 who are not unionized and who have low levels of education, 0:08:18.556 --> 0:08:19.836 and to your point, a lot of them are just 0:08:19.876 --> 0:08:23.516 scraping by. You have to try and attack the affordability issues, 0:08:23.916 --> 0:08:27.076 and the most intractable of them is clearly housing. Just 0:08:27.196 --> 0:08:29.156 living in New York City is very expensive, to your point, 0:08:29.796 --> 0:08:33.236 and so that's something that we have to try to 0:08:33.276 --> 0:08:36.196 invest in at a much higher level than we have. 0:08:36.956 --> 0:08:39.196 And I think there are opportunities there, in part because 0:08:39.316 --> 0:08:46.356 right now, frankly, vacancies in rental apartments are at multi 0:08:46.436 --> 0:08:50.956 decade highs because of COVID. Our hotels are eighty to 0:08:51.036 --> 0:08:54.676 ninety percent unoccupied because we're missing so many tourists. There 0:08:54.716 --> 0:08:58.756 are opportunities to convert some of the buildings right now 0:08:58.796 --> 0:09:02.116 that are vacant and unused too affordable housing, to try 0:09:02.156 --> 0:09:06.476 and have the opportunity meet the need. Your presidential campaign 0:09:06.596 --> 0:09:09.316 captured a lot of people's imagination because this was a 0:09:09.396 --> 0:09:14.116 big idea and also it's interesting background is a neither 0:09:14.316 --> 0:09:18.716 left nor right idea, but it was a lot more 0:09:18.756 --> 0:09:21.396 money for a lot more people. It really was universal, 0:09:21.716 --> 0:09:25.116 and it really was something resembling a minimum standard of 0:09:25.156 --> 0:09:30.916 living for everybody. This plan, by comparison, just seems not 0:09:31.076 --> 0:09:33.276 that much money for that not that many people. Is 0:09:33.276 --> 0:09:35.756 that just the fiscal reality of New York City that 0:09:35.876 --> 0:09:38.636 this is all you can do? Well, Jacob, I think 0:09:38.676 --> 0:09:41.436 that most people realize that if Andreang had his way, 0:09:41.796 --> 0:09:44.676 we'd all beginning one thousand dollars a month at this point, 0:09:44.676 --> 0:09:47.276 I think that doesn't go fire it up like with COVID, 0:09:47.436 --> 0:09:49.356 I'd probably be more like the two thousand dollars a 0:09:49.396 --> 0:09:52.196 month level. And I think there are really creative ways 0:09:52.236 --> 0:09:53.756 that we can get more buying power to the hands 0:09:53.756 --> 0:09:58.116 of New Yorkers. So there are yeshivas in Brooklyn that 0:09:58.276 --> 0:10:02.636 ask the parents of the children to buy two thousand 0:10:02.636 --> 0:10:06.636 dollars worth of vouchers to locally own small businesses. They 0:10:06.636 --> 0:10:08.676 buy these vouchers, they then use them at the locally 0:10:08.676 --> 0:10:11.676 owned small businesses. The businesses turn them into the yeshiva, 0:10:11.996 --> 0:10:14.316 and then the yeshiva takes a cut, let's call it 0:10:14.396 --> 0:10:18.156 fifteen percent. So this is a massive fundraiser every year 0:10:18.476 --> 0:10:21.796 for the yeshivas, and the small businesses win because they're 0:10:21.796 --> 0:10:23.356 getting a lot of business that they might not have 0:10:23.396 --> 0:10:26.636 gotten otherwise. If New York City were a country, we 0:10:26.636 --> 0:10:28.876 would be the eleventh biggest economy in the world. We're 0:10:28.876 --> 0:10:31.956 a very vast, diverse economy. There are ways that we 0:10:31.996 --> 0:10:34.476 can get buying power into people's hands that get funneled 0:10:34.556 --> 0:10:37.596 straight to locally owned small businesses in a way that's 0:10:37.956 --> 0:10:41.196 value multiplying. And so when you look at the problems 0:10:41.236 --> 0:10:44.116 we're trying to solve, we do have a crisis among 0:10:44.836 --> 0:10:48.116 restaurants and small businesses where thousands are closing, thousands of 0:10:48.116 --> 0:10:50.996 others aren't sure whether they're going to make it and 0:10:51.036 --> 0:10:54.596 so and then we have food lines for blocks. We 0:10:54.676 --> 0:10:58.116 have seven hundred thousand missing jobs. There are creative ways 0:10:58.156 --> 0:11:00.196 that we can get value into people's hands that will 0:11:00.196 --> 0:11:03.596 circulate in a way that will help our communities directly. 0:11:03.956 --> 0:11:06.596 So when you talk about some of the physical realities 0:11:06.596 --> 0:11:09.716 we face, you know, New York City is not the 0:11:09.756 --> 0:11:12.356 federal government. We can't conjure up one point nine trillion. 0:11:13.276 --> 0:11:15.636 But there are things that we can do that we'll 0:11:15.636 --> 0:11:18.196 get value into people's hands. That's one reason I'm running 0:11:18.196 --> 0:11:20.596 for mayors. I think I can do more to help 0:11:20.636 --> 0:11:23.876 turn us around. At two thousand dollars a year. It 0:11:23.916 --> 0:11:25.916 isn't really an issue, but a lot of people who 0:11:25.956 --> 0:11:29.876 object to the idea of a UBI are simply concerned 0:11:29.916 --> 0:11:32.436 that it will disincentivize people to work. And you know, 0:11:32.716 --> 0:11:35.476 and this is the argument about welfare, you know, going 0:11:35.516 --> 0:11:38.916 back decades, whether it should be conditioned on work or 0:11:38.916 --> 0:11:40.636 whether it should be offered in the form of a 0:11:40.676 --> 0:11:44.636 guaranteed job. Obviously, your proposals go very strongly in the 0:11:45.076 --> 0:11:48.956 direction of non conditionality. Can you explain why you think 0:11:49.476 --> 0:11:52.316 that's not a problem with the idea of UBI, That 0:11:52.516 --> 0:11:57.316 is why UBI doesn't make it possible for people who 0:11:57.396 --> 0:12:01.516 would otherwise be working fuller part time to not work well. 0:12:01.956 --> 0:12:03.996 First on, lately out the objection, so people know what 0:12:04.036 --> 0:12:05.916 they are, and you can imagine what they are. Number 0:12:05.956 --> 0:12:07.916 one is how do we pay for it? And number 0:12:07.916 --> 0:12:10.196 two is what will people do with the money? When 0:12:10.676 --> 0:12:13.996 the Cares Act was passed and we put twelve hundred 0:12:13.996 --> 0:12:16.436 dollars into people's hands, and this was a very small 0:12:16.476 --> 0:12:19.076 fraction of the two point two trillion in the Cares Act, 0:12:19.116 --> 0:12:22.196 we could have given everyone in America six thousand dollars 0:12:22.476 --> 0:12:24.436 and still had billions left over in the cars Act, 0:12:24.476 --> 0:12:27.076 but most of the money went to companies and institutions 0:12:27.076 --> 0:12:31.156 of various kinds. So number one, now Americans are like, oh, 0:12:31.196 --> 0:12:32.836 we actually had the money, you know, like we could 0:12:32.836 --> 0:12:34.556 have done this if we wanted to at any point. 0:12:34.836 --> 0:12:37.556 And then number two, how would you spend the money? 0:12:38.156 --> 0:12:40.396 It's manifest and how people actually did spend the money, 0:12:40.436 --> 0:12:43.556 because when they got the twelve hundred dollars, they spent 0:12:43.636 --> 0:12:48.116 it on food and fuel, their basic needs and keeping 0:12:48.116 --> 0:12:50.796 a roof over their head, and it did not transform 0:12:50.876 --> 0:12:53.756 their personalities, it didn't change their work ethic. And so 0:12:53.836 --> 0:12:58.276 now like the objections that people have really been kind 0:12:58.316 --> 0:13:02.676 of demonstrated not to be as compelling by our own experience, 0:13:03.076 --> 0:13:04.956 you know. And it's one reason why cash relief now 0:13:05.076 --> 0:13:09.916 is so front and center in our national conversation as 0:13:09.916 --> 0:13:12.756 to what to do. Eighty five percent of Americans are 0:13:12.756 --> 0:13:15.436 for a cash relief during the pandemic, and fifty five 0:13:15.516 --> 0:13:18.996 percent are for it in perpetuity. But I think that 0:13:19.076 --> 0:13:21.436 the thought amount of work ethic, it's very deeply baked 0:13:21.436 --> 0:13:26.676 into the American psyche. The odds of people starting a 0:13:26.916 --> 0:13:30.556 small business in their community would skyrocket if both they 0:13:30.596 --> 0:13:32.996 had a certain amount of money they could rely on 0:13:33.116 --> 0:13:35.076 and if everyone in their community had a certain amount 0:13:35.076 --> 0:13:38.436 of money to spend. How is New York's fiscal condition 0:13:38.716 --> 0:13:41.476 looking ahead? Which is another way of asking the question 0:13:41.516 --> 0:13:44.476 of how affordable it would be to create and expand 0:13:44.516 --> 0:13:47.836 this program. You know, going back decades, of course, the 0:13:47.916 --> 0:13:51.036 city had a fiscal crisis and was essentially bankrupt. But 0:13:51.356 --> 0:13:54.636 in recent years its revenue is very much spurred by 0:13:54.836 --> 0:13:58.116 the boom and the real estate market, and it's been 0:13:58.276 --> 0:14:01.076 pretty flash. I mean, budgets have grown and you know, 0:14:01.116 --> 0:14:04.756 they haven't been big shortfalls. But post COVID, obviously we 0:14:04.796 --> 0:14:06.556 don't know what the city is going to look like, 0:14:06.956 --> 0:14:09.836 what property values are ultimately going to settle in at 0:14:10.116 --> 0:14:13.436 it's the city in good fiscal shape or terrible fiscal shape. 0:14:14.476 --> 0:14:16.876 The city is in bad fiscal shape. You're looking at 0:14:16.996 --> 0:14:20.476 multibillion dollar deficits for the foreseeable future, for the next 0:14:20.596 --> 0:14:23.396 let's call it four years. Some of the numbers, Jacob, 0:14:23.436 --> 0:14:25.996 that I have top of mind. We've lost twenty seven 0:14:26.036 --> 0:14:30.236 thousand lives, seven hundred thousand jobs, sixty million tourists who 0:14:30.316 --> 0:14:33.636 used to support three hundred thousand of those jobs. Several 0:14:33.716 --> 0:14:37.436 hundred thousand people have left New York City, including some 0:14:37.476 --> 0:14:41.196 people who are frankly very high taxs payers and earners. 0:14:41.836 --> 0:14:45.636 Some way, ridership is down seventy percent. Let's call it 0:14:45.796 --> 0:14:49.476 a four to five billion dollars deficit on a budget 0:14:49.556 --> 0:14:52.716 of eighty eight billion or so, and we're not even 0:14:52.756 --> 0:14:55.716 sure whether that's the precise level because some of these 0:14:55.716 --> 0:15:00.276 things are still playing out. Midtown commercial real estate is 0:15:00.276 --> 0:15:04.036 eighty two percent unoccupied, which is devastating not just for 0:15:04.236 --> 0:15:09.836 those organizations and their landlords over time, but also security 0:15:09.876 --> 0:15:12.556 guards and the food trucks and the street level retail 0:15:12.596 --> 0:15:16.756 that ordinarily would have that those commuters every day. This 0:15:16.836 --> 0:15:19.516 is a really, really dark time for New York City, 0:15:19.516 --> 0:15:21.516 and there's no guarantee it comes back the way that 0:15:21.836 --> 0:15:25.196 we wanted to. We should know that that's what we're facing. 0:15:25.396 --> 0:15:27.716 I guess someone could come and give you, like the 0:15:27.796 --> 0:15:31.956 rosier version what I just described, but I'm a numbers 0:15:31.956 --> 0:15:35.316 guy that those are just the realities we're facing now. 0:15:35.676 --> 0:15:39.276 You were asking in the context of this particular universal 0:15:39.556 --> 0:15:42.276 or in my case not universal, like a guaranteed minimum 0:15:42.276 --> 0:15:44.316 income in New York City. I do want to tell 0:15:44.356 --> 0:15:46.916 a story that pushes us in that direction. I talked 0:15:46.956 --> 0:15:50.276 to a philanthropist here in New York. She ran a 0:15:50.356 --> 0:15:57.316 foundation that gave new moms baby clothes and formula and strollers, 0:15:57.756 --> 0:16:00.156 and then when COVID hit, they just converted to cash. 0:16:00.276 --> 0:16:01.516 They were like, well, we can't give you all the 0:16:01.516 --> 0:16:03.716 stuff because you know it's tough for this environment, so 0:16:03.716 --> 0:16:05.716 it's going to send you money. And then it turns 0:16:05.716 --> 0:16:10.236 out that that worked really well. They're like, hey, maybe 0:16:10.236 --> 0:16:12.196 we should stick to this. So there are a lot 0:16:12.196 --> 0:16:16.516 of philanthropists who had similar experiences, and I'm optimistic that 0:16:17.036 --> 0:16:20.276 we're going to be able to augment our resources by 0:16:20.276 --> 0:16:24.436 teaming up with some of the nonprofits and foundations in 0:16:24.476 --> 0:16:26.276 the city to say, look, this is the most effective 0:16:26.276 --> 0:16:29.436 thing we can do to alleviate poverty directly by putting 0:16:29.436 --> 0:16:32.516 money into people's hands, because if you keep people in 0:16:32.556 --> 0:16:35.236 more stable situations in New York City, Jacob, we actually 0:16:35.236 --> 0:16:37.676 save a lot of money. Yeah. I think a question 0:16:37.756 --> 0:16:40.596 coming up in the debates is surely going to be 0:16:41.076 --> 0:16:44.396 whether this is the best use of a billion dollars 0:16:44.436 --> 0:16:46.956 to alleviate poverty in New York. You know, you could 0:16:46.996 --> 0:16:49.916 do a lot about housing and homelessness with a billion dollars. 0:16:49.996 --> 0:16:52.156 You could do a lot for the public schools given 0:16:52.156 --> 0:16:55.676 those other pressing needs, do you think it really makes 0:16:55.676 --> 0:17:02.316 sense to be categorical about supplementing cash income well, Jacob, 0:17:02.356 --> 0:17:04.236 but one of the problems you cited is homelessness, and 0:17:04.356 --> 0:17:07.636 I'm very confident that putting resources into people's hands it's 0:17:07.676 --> 0:17:10.716 going to reduce the crisis of homelessness that we're seeing 0:17:10.716 --> 0:17:12.876 in New York City. If a family winds up in 0:17:12.876 --> 0:17:16.316 our shelter system, we are spending six thousand dollars per 0:17:16.436 --> 0:17:20.036 month on that family. And so if you spend a 0:17:20.116 --> 0:17:22.556 fraction of that keeping someone in their home and they 0:17:22.596 --> 0:17:24.676 don't wind up in our shelter system, it's actually a win. 0:17:25.196 --> 0:17:27.756 One of the things I've committed to is reducing the 0:17:27.836 --> 0:17:30.556 level of street homelessness by more than fifty percent in 0:17:30.596 --> 0:17:33.556 my first term, and it is doable. We can invest 0:17:33.556 --> 0:17:36.956 in safe haven beds and mental health resources and supportive 0:17:36.956 --> 0:17:41.836 housing and more assertive interventions to get people the help 0:17:41.876 --> 0:17:44.476 that they need. So what I would argue is that 0:17:44.596 --> 0:17:48.516 this extreme poverty relief program will actually reduce some of 0:17:48.516 --> 0:17:51.036 the other problems that you're talking about, whether it be 0:17:51.076 --> 0:17:55.756 homelessness or public safety or education. Because obviously a lot 0:17:55.796 --> 0:17:58.916 of these people have families, and it's very difficult for 0:17:58.996 --> 0:18:01.436 a child to learn if they're in extreme poverty. I mean, 0:18:01.556 --> 0:18:03.876 you know, you can imagine what that that that's like. 0:18:04.356 --> 0:18:07.836 I talked to someone yesterday who grew up in poverty, 0:18:07.876 --> 0:18:10.636 and he said that his last meal of the week 0:18:10.756 --> 0:18:12.636 was school lunch on Friday, and then he didn't eat 0:18:12.636 --> 0:18:16.196 again until school lunch on Monday. You know, so you 0:18:16.196 --> 0:18:19.636 can imagine the learning environment, you know that for that child. 0:18:19.996 --> 0:18:22.516 So cash relief touches a lot of other problems. We 0:18:22.556 --> 0:18:25.956 need to invest in the other problems, obviously directly, but 0:18:25.996 --> 0:18:28.276 I would argue that this is actually something that will 0:18:28.276 --> 0:18:33.236 make those other solutions more effective. I'm curious about why 0:18:33.956 --> 0:18:37.876 extreme poverty and cash relief is the problem that you've 0:18:37.876 --> 0:18:41.636 really devoted your career to at this point. I mean, personally, 0:18:41.796 --> 0:18:43.956 is there How did you come to this? Did you 0:18:44.076 --> 0:18:46.876 experience poverty at some point in your life? Did you 0:18:46.916 --> 0:18:51.916 witness extreme poverty? Jacob, I'm I'm the child of immigrants, 0:18:51.956 --> 0:18:54.796 but I had a relatively privileged upbringing in like a 0:18:54.796 --> 0:18:57.436 middle class household, and you know, in Upstate New York 0:18:57.436 --> 0:19:00.236 in the suburbs. For me, I came to this because 0:19:00.276 --> 0:19:03.596 I spent years running an organization Venture for America that 0:19:03.636 --> 0:19:07.516 I founded that was creating jobs around the country in 0:19:07.556 --> 0:19:10.876 the Midwest and the South primary and I became convinced 0:19:10.996 --> 0:19:14.996 that our economy is transforming in ways that will leave 0:19:15.036 --> 0:19:17.316 millions and millions of us behind. It already is I mean, 0:19:17.356 --> 0:19:19.876 and the pandemic has sped it up. Experts have called 0:19:19.876 --> 0:19:23.356 it the fourth Industrial Revolution. If you play out what 0:19:23.876 --> 0:19:27.116 impact technology will have on our labor force, it's going 0:19:27.196 --> 0:19:29.876 to be disruptive to the lives of tens of millions 0:19:29.996 --> 0:19:33.996 of Americans. Most common jobs in the economy are retail, 0:19:34.996 --> 0:19:38.476 call centers, food service, food prep, truck driving, and manufacturing. 0:19:39.316 --> 0:19:42.116 And what you've heard is that all we're going to 0:19:42.196 --> 0:19:44.356 retrain them. But then as soon as you dig into 0:19:44.436 --> 0:19:47.676 the realities of retraining like that, the programs don't work. 0:19:47.716 --> 0:19:49.356 It doesn't make sense. You're not going to take a 0:19:49.356 --> 0:19:52.316 thousand coal miners and turn them into coders. The fact is, 0:19:52.356 --> 0:19:54.276 if you actually follow up after you have the press 0:19:54.276 --> 0:19:56.236 release saying we're going to trade coal miners as coders, 0:19:56.396 --> 0:19:58.196 then you get there and they're working at Sam's Club. 0:19:58.716 --> 0:20:01.476 So I arrived at universal basic income because I saw 0:20:01.516 --> 0:20:05.196 it as inevitable as a response to these economic changes, like, 0:20:05.276 --> 0:20:07.876 we have to make this investment now. So that's why 0:20:07.916 --> 0:20:10.596 I ran for president. We won the argument right now 0:20:10.636 --> 0:20:13.996 at this point, though, our government is not functioning in 0:20:13.996 --> 0:20:16.396 a way that you know, if majority of Americans want something, 0:20:16.396 --> 0:20:22.596 it passes. So that's why I'm so passionate about it. Jacob. 0:20:22.636 --> 0:20:26.916 There's just so much unnecessary, untold human misery that we 0:20:26.956 --> 0:20:29.716 can just alleviate tomorrow if we just decided to do so. 0:20:30.276 --> 0:20:32.476 But you're making a bed, aren't you? That the economic 0:20:32.516 --> 0:20:35.356 future is going to be fundamentally different from the past. 0:20:35.756 --> 0:20:41.436 In the past, when jobs, hard physical jobs have disappeared 0:20:41.476 --> 0:20:46.436 because of automation and trade, generally workers have moved up 0:20:46.436 --> 0:20:50.756 the value chain. The United States has produced products with 0:20:50.876 --> 0:20:54.636 bigger value add and ultimately standard of living increases. And 0:20:54.676 --> 0:20:58.236 when you talk about this idea of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 0:20:58.756 --> 0:21:02.516 isn't it making an assumption? Obviously, the individual stories are 0:21:02.636 --> 0:21:05.796 entirely real, and there are there structural displacement of jobs. 0:21:06.036 --> 0:21:08.276 But when you look at the economy as a whole, 0:21:08.516 --> 0:21:10.996 are you can in set really is our future that 0:21:11.156 --> 0:21:14.676 is having a really significant segment of society that is 0:21:14.756 --> 0:21:19.676 structurally unemployed ako, it's our present. Look around, you know, 0:21:19.756 --> 0:21:21.636 I mean you have the ranks of the long term 0:21:21.676 --> 0:21:25.916 unemployed rising every week because of the pandemic. This is 0:21:25.956 --> 0:21:28.436 no longer speculative. This is the reality we are faced 0:21:28.436 --> 0:21:32.316 with right now. And even the first industrial revolution of 0:21:32.356 --> 0:21:35.636 the turn of the century involved masked riots and unrest. 0:21:36.156 --> 0:21:40.836 Labor days inaugurated because of riots that caused a number 0:21:40.876 --> 0:21:45.996 of deaths. And this industrial revolution is faster, nastier, broader, 0:21:46.756 --> 0:21:49.796 it's going to touch more industries. You can just look 0:21:49.836 --> 0:21:52.716 around and see very clearly that we are disintegrating by 0:21:52.756 --> 0:21:55.796 the numbers. You know, you ask any economists and say, hey, like, 0:21:56.156 --> 0:21:58.196 are these folks that are losing their jobs? Are they 0:21:58.236 --> 0:22:01.396 like finding new opportunities? We are moving across state lines 0:22:01.436 --> 0:22:03.956 at lower levels that we have in decades. So the 0:22:03.996 --> 0:22:07.916 adaptation is not happening. The disintegration is. And the question 0:22:08.036 --> 0:22:10.396 is how quickly will we acknowledge it and do something 0:22:10.436 --> 0:22:13.796 about it? Yeah, and what can listeners do about this problem? 0:22:13.836 --> 0:22:16.516 And I'm not talking about supporting your campaign for mayor, 0:22:16.636 --> 0:22:20.036