Andrew Yang’s message at Rock Hill campaign event: ‘I need you with me’
James Alford, 4, wore a dark blue T-shirt that read ‘I love MATH’ on the front. That’s an acronym used by Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang’s campaign, which stands for Make America Think Harder.
James sipped on a juice box and ran in circles around his mom, Heather Alford, a Greenville, S.C., volunteer with Yang’s campaign.
Behind James, another young boy, Auden Khang, 3, ran in circles at the back of the Old Town Amphitheater in Rock Hill. He wore a Yang pin on his gray hoodie. Auden’s mom, Leechee Yang, of Charlotte, who also wore a pin, stood behind her son.
In front of the two boys, Yang stood on the outdoor amphitheater stage and spoke to a crowd of about 700 people.
The tech entrepreneur, who is polling around 4% in South Carolina, held a rally in Rock Hill Friday night and made it clear that his campaign stands for change, and he needs voters to make it happen.
‘You have to fix it’
Yang, founder of the nonprofit Venture for America, spoke about his experience traveling the country with the nonprofit to help businesses create jobs. Although he gained national recognition for his work, Yang said it isn’t enough. The country is in jeopardy of losing thousands of jobs, Yang said.
“How many of you have noticed stores closing around where you live here in South Carolina?” Yang asked.
The crowd murmured “Me” and “Yes.”
“And why are those stores closing?”
The crowd shouted “Amazon!”
“Amazon,” Yang said. “One word answer. Amazon is soaking up $20 billion in business every single year, closing 30% of your stores and malls.”
He said Amazon paid no federal income tax last year.
“And South Carolina, I have to say, you know who has to fix it?” Yang said. “You do.”
The crowd was quiet.
“Oh, I know you’re here. You’re like, ‘Hey, it’s a Friday night. I just came to see Yang speak. I have to fix the fact that Amazon’s paying zero taxes?’”
The crowd laughed.
“Yes,” Yang said. “You have to fix it.”
He said his campaign is the way to fix it.
“This is the grassroots revolution that can get in there and start rewriting the rules of the 21st century economy to work for us,” Yang said. “But the only way that happens is if you make it happen, South Carolina.”
‘Money into your hands’
Yang, who is well known for his $1,000-per-month universal basic income platform, known as the “Freedom Dividend,” said tech giants should pay people for use of their data. Yang said data is now worth more than oil.
“Facebook owes us all money,” he said. “How many of you got your data check in the mail?”
The crowded shouted: “Nobody!”
“This is how we start rewriting the rules,” he said. “We get our fair share of every Amazon sale, every Google search, every Facebook, and we put the money into your hands. And you know the money doesn’t disappear after I’m president.”
Yang asked the crowd where they would spend the money.
A man who stood on the edge of the amphitheater and held a blue “MATH” sign shouted: “Car repairs! Daycare! Chick-fil-A!”
“I heard a lot of things,” Yang said. “Student loans. I heard weed over there.”
The crowd laughed.
“So, a little money floats out to the cloud, but most of it stays right here in your communities,” he said. “It goes to daycare and little league sign ups and car repairs you’re putting off. And the things that make us stronger and healthier every single day.”
‘Mindset of scarcity’
Yang said the country needs to move away from a “mindset of scarcity,” and focus more on possibility and optimism.
“But it’s not just money,” he said. “It’s time. It’s companionship. There are different types of scarcity that are weighing us down. And this is what we have to defeat the most.”
The rally was almost over, and James and Auden were playing tag together. They ran around the amphitheater and giggled as Yang explained how the country can adopt a more optimistic mindset.
“Instead of a race for who can perform the most, productivity and work in a particular time frame, it has to be who can make us healthier, stronger, mentally healthier, more artistic, more optimistic, more sound, more whole,” he said.
The boys’ giggles echoed through the amphitheater.
“I want to be proud of the country that we leave for our kids,” Yang nearly shouted. “I can see the future very clearly, South Carolina, and the future that is coming down the road is not something I am willing to accept for my kids or yours. I cannot change our future alone. I need you to work. I need you with me.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 12:54 AM.
