The man who wants America to “think harder” has parlayed his quixotic presidential campaign into front-runner status in New York’s mayoral election. And he has some big plans.
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New York City
economy is so big that if New York were a country,
would be, I believe, the eleventh biggest gdp in the world between Canada and Russia. So as
mayor of New York City. That would make you a perfect combination of just introduced in Vladimir Putin. Would you say that
sums up Andrew Yang pretty well, hopefully, a lot more trudeau hit
you may have noticed that we don't interview to many politicians on economics or you want to be honest? It really say that much. There is not much of the stuff we are interested in. This showed tries to use data and research,
logic to explore how the world works maybe headwind.
through the world many politicians, beauty.
Emotion and bluster to Ben things toward their worldview and they tend to be more ideological than logical.
Nothing is anything wrong with that. Well, I guess I am in any case. That is not what we do but occasion
You do encounter someone in the political arena whose little but different, even a lot different. That would describe today's guest.
I am Andrew Yang and I am running to be mayor of New York City. We ve actually happen
hang on the show before two years ago, when he was just starting out.
On an even more unlikely campaign. That episode was called. Why is this man running for president? Here's how it began
Andrew Yang is not famous, not yet at least maybe we'll be someday. But let me tell you a story.
He's forty four years old who was born in Schenectady New York City, long dominated by General Electric, the sort of company that law
dominated the american economy, but which is you likely know, doesn't anymore Yanks parents both emigrated from Taiwan and Mitten Grad school is mother, became a systems administered
his father did research. It IBM got his name on sixty nine patents,
there's some Andrew studied economic and political science at Brown, you gotta law degree at Columbia and ultimately became a successful entrepreneur or the focus on widespread job
creation in the american dream, sweepstakes Andrew gangs, a pretty big
but along the way he came to see that for every winter there were thousands upon thousands of losers. As we discussed in that earlier Episode Yang had started a nonprofit called venture for America. Its goal was to dinner
job growth in some places left behind by modern capitalism. This project wasn't wildly successful, but it did expose Yang
to a view of the american economy that you dont get from the corridors of power and wealth, we are blasting communities to dust
and then pretending like we're not in pretending like its, therefore pretending that somehow is unreasonable to be upset about your way of life. Getting destroyed Yang believed that Donald Trump One, the presidency in twenty sixteen, because Trump rightly understood the nature of this. For us,
patient when Yang decided to run in twenty twenty spoiler? He didn't when he took trumps, make amends
a great slogan and unified. It make America think harder which happens to shorten up to math
convenient acronym for a man who loves Data Yang, embraced and approach. It would come to call human centred capitalism. It's one those phrases that would seem to be obvious, maybe even redundant like evidence based policy, but
the deeper you dig. You see it's not Yang at a lot of interesting ideas, and I was taken with how he diagnosed and proposed a treat some of the key problems in the: U S, economy and society.
So when it turned out, he was running for mayor of New York City well for economics. Radio lives here and we care about New York
and we also know the city- has a deep pandemic, ditch to dig itself out of so that's one reason I want to speak with Yang again, but also New York is a big enough economic engine and a bigger
stage that if someone as unorthodox as Andrew Yang were to somehow win this election, it might shake things up. All
the way to the national level of politics gang
is a devoted Democrat once his own presidential bid ended. He campaigned hard for Joe Biden then went to Georgia
to campaign for Raphia, Warnock and John US off in their runoff elections? For the? U S, Senate, but Yang. Also,
things the Democratic Party needs to spend less effort, simply trying to elect more Democrats and more developing policies that make their candidates worth electing. I would love for them.
Panic Party to embrace human centred capitalism and have a set of measurements where it says. Look, we're gonna be the party that improves our health, our children,
health or educational outcomes are environmental sustainability. The United States
something like twenty eight in the world around basic measurements like public education and clean water, and that should be acceptable to everyone
hope is, and you can even draw the Republicans in and the Republicans look up and say: well the outcomes we care
are. You know it could be seen
business formation, it could be volunteerism could be things are
the family and some of those
they are priorities that I think a lot of Americans would be happy about neither party I would love for us to have a sense of look where twenty eight now that's unacceptable, let's climbed the charts. So today on economics, radio, how do you climb those charts, whether you talking the? U S as a whole,
or just New York City. I think that being a human being and likeable is positive, and I think trying to be helpful is positive, but member
Andrew Yang is still a political outsider, who's never held office. Doesn't America's biggest city deserve a mare with some experience. Do we think that, what's that happening has been working? If you think it's been working great, I might not be
the candidates you want and what would a Yang mayoralty soundly it's coming up and after this
Yeah
this is broken,
mix radio, the podcast but explores the hidden side of everything. Here's your host, Stephen,
Abner
the current mayor of New York City build the plaza, is term limited, so he must leave office at the end of this year
This comes as a welcome development for many new Yorkers, as the plaza is one of the least popular mayors in modern history between eight years,
the Plaza and New York having been the american epicenter of Cuban nineteen, the city,
is ready for a change new Yorkers all
I understand that the cuban rebound may take a while. This means the elite
action of a new mare has particular gravity this time around, especially because the majority of the City Council will also be replaced this year thanks to terminate
New York City, as you may have heard, has a lot of Democrats in it, which means that the Democrats
primary for mayor is historically the de facto election this year the democratic primary falls on June. Twenty
Second, there are more than a dozen candidates still in the race, many of whom have deep experience in New York.
Politics, but Andrew Yang, thanks to his presidential run, has from the start been at. The top of the poles. Lately has led to slip
the most serious competitor at the moment, is Eric Adams. Currently, the borough president of Brooklyn he's a former police captain,
who, in nineteen ninety five cofounded and advocacy group, called one hundred blacks in law enforcement who care. It is an interesting time for a candidate to have both racial justice, credibility and police. Credibility in Adams so far made his case well
the former Sanitation Commissioner, Catherine Garcia. Just one. The New York Times is endorsement.
But Andrew Yang remains the candidate who was captured the most public attention, some of it more flattering than the rest. So let me ask you this Andrew, as a presidential candidate, you're kind of everybody's favour underdog, and it is cheap to like you, because you had no
no chance, let's be honest, no offence, as presidents have not taken Stephen, not attained. You could be everybody's favorite, second or third candidate, but now that you are the front runner for New York City mayor
you're, getting attacked from all sides for all reasons, for having no experience in government for having some policies that sound liberal in some that sound libertarian you being attacked
for never having voted for New York City Mare, even though you ve lived there long time yard attack for taking your family out of New York City.
During the pandemic. Just recently managed ups
the teachers union, which is a big deal in New York City and the political arm of the algae
t community for someone who was
and getting those attacks, and now is. How do you interpret?
them, and what are you doing about them? I'll Stephen,
being a front runner is a different experience, has never way is a bit like the likeable scobie did I, but I prefer being the front
Gunnar because it means we have a better chance to win and a better chance of having a positive impact. I think folks are sound
enough to understand political attacks.
They see them and
you see rank choice. Voting. This is the first time New York City, s head
a major election with rank choice voting. How do you think it's gonna affect your chances, positive or negative? Or first, let me
say that I love choice. Voting I think it's the future.
I could see. I think we should be using it in many many precincts. It can diminish the incentives to campaign next.
Happily, it can diminish polarization. It should reward people that have brought appeal and positive message. If you look at congressional raised
is eighty percent of them are cited in the primary like this mayoral raised. Frankly at so a lot of borders, they feel they have a meaningful choice. If you look at the folks who produced
They didn't party primaries attends to be twenty percent of the people
Relations over the most are delighted
on either side. This is as true in Mississippi as Massachusetts it so you want
not with a real lack of lower case, deep democracy and so
I think that this process change
Frank Choice, voting accompanied by open primaries would be a real step forward and that something
I'd love to see happen around the country, so I'd love rank to his voting. Even if I wasn't in a race frankly but
I think right. Choice. Voting generally will help me, because a lot of people have heard of me,
I am happy to say about two thirds of people have a positive opinion.
What you see is the best and worst feet
there is, of course, a modern american capitalism. All start with the worst that this point, we have
system that is prioritizing the growth of massive mass of enterprises.
The Amazon, I think, being the most conspicuous example and the repercussions of this hyper corporatist winner takes all economy, really have not been truly understood
reflected on you're, seeing it in media using a ban, retail you're, seeing and finance
terms. As you see a lot of these industries where the traditional competitive dynamics have stopped, applying
and its leaving. Many many more Americans behind a lot of people
really being included in whatever the gains are those
some of the worst things about our current version of capitalism. In theory, the best things are that it supposed to allocate capital more efficiently, which you can argue towards what end. But the other thing
is that its feeling certain types of innovation is fuelling innovation in markets that, frankly,
money to be made in so things that serve high end consumers, things where there is a really strong
financial incentive, unfortunately, there's other
areas where there is a strong financial incentive, where we have been intervening as quickly as we'd, like there's a common complaint that it's pretty easy these days as a big firm,
to do a lot of things that are illegal or unethical, and even if you're caught all you do is pay a fine and even if the finest of
Two billion dollars is really just surrounding air for these firms. I know that in Europe,
the war, a normal people. You propose that for every hundred million dollars, that a company is find by the Department of Justice or that their bailed out by the federal government and that both at sea.
in its largest, individual shareholders should spend one month in jail
I did right. You did right that you still like that, propose
Would you invoke it in New York City? If you remember, I dont think
that's something that I have discretion over in New York City. But there are firms that can do a very slow,
its cost benefit analysis and say: okay, we mark it up
your aids as an addiction, free, wonder, drug we're going to make
fifteen billion and then we're going to end up spending six hundred eighty million in fines and guess what will still be
among the richest companies and individuals in the world, so seems like it makes sense, and that's obviously, unfortunately, a real life example that has caused us. Tens of thousands of lives
you're saying you were never latitude to actually carry out. Your plan is New York City Mare, but you are the equivalent
You know, have just introduced: half Lattimer Putin do something in New York. City is the home of lot of corporate headquarters, and this is where markets kind of figure out how to be markets. So what would you do, if not as punitive as that to try to put your thumb on the scale in the right direction, in a bid to try to make even the largest and most cut throat forms of capitalism a little bit more human centred? So I think that the biggest floor with capitalism right now is that its optimizing for capital,
turns, even if those cappel returns don't help improve our quality of life more broadly and sewed. My goal would be to Orient are incentives around a how healthy we are mentally healthy? We are
how cleaner water and air are power. Kids are doing whether our life expectancy is getting longer. Shorter.
New York City, I'm happy to say, has really copious levels of data and some of the data is unfair.
recently horrifying where a black expected mother is eight times more likely to die during childbirth and white expected mother. The life expect
and see if you're born in Brownsville as ten years shorter than if you're born in the West Village, and so, if you have these measurements than you can see
more clearly. How are you doing are not doing,
If you know anything at all about Andrea, hangs, twenty twenty presidential campaign, you probably know about his signature proposal to give a bit of money to everyone
Here he is talking about it in our earlier episode with him from January of twenty nineteen by first big policy is the freedom dividend, a policy where every american adult
in the age of eighteen. Sixty four gets a thousand dollars a month, freeing clear no questions asked to the Freedom
dividend is you're phrase for what most of us knows, a universal basic income. Yes, it's a
we brand of universal basic income because it tests much better with Americans with a word freedom in it you mean the act
ray as it as nomenclature the ideas, the same area, so universal,
This game come tat great with about half the country and then the other half the country do not like it, because because you know that it's got welfare connotations, something along those lines.
we tested a bunch of names and then, when you had the word freedom in it than all the sun and testing shot up among self identified, conservatives,
I hated universal basic income, hated prosperity, dividend all some freedom dividends like thinking. What about progressives? Liberals Democrats, progressive Syllables Democrats liked it no matter what the name
What was then the other names that didn't work? Citizens
dividends. Future
maddened prosper!
already dividend, we had lotta dividends. I think of it
dividend as a pale.
On an investment.
What is it mean in this case, all its powers to ownership and we
are the owners and shareholders of this the most wealthy in advance, assigning the history the world. So this is a dividend for us.
and there's nothing stopping a majority of shareholders, majority of citizens from voting themselves, a dividend to that was then when gang was running for president,
oh running for mayor of New York City, I proposed billion dollar casually plan to try and lifts
bout, a half million New Yorkers out of extreme poverty and keep them in more,
table situations and, frankly, off of our streets, the New York City version essentially of your freedom dividend, but a pared down version. Yes,
I think most new ordered. Now, if I had my way, we'd all beginning a thousand dollars a month or more at this point, but we don't have that capacity in this environment and so
focusing instead on trying to lift people were in extreme poverty out
its harder than most people think to give people money. We had a direct experience with this last march when,
My organization, humanity forward, decided
to give a million dollars two thousand families in the Bronx as quickly as possible, because I wanted to say look this is
we should be doing during the pandemic to help stabilize
people situations, and I called citibank-
maybe Morgan Chase- and I said hey, can you help us identify a thousand of your account holders who are financially precarious and they said? No? Is this because of banking rags because of terrorism?
because a privacy concerns or just inability to do it. I think
the combination of some privacy concerns and inability to do it. Frankly, and maybe lack of, will I mean, what's in
for them. Yeah. There's a bit of that too. I actually asked them. Ok, if you can identify a thousand account holders, can you just give us a thousand debit cards and we can figure out a way to physically get?
these cars in the people's hands? They said no to that too, which made me think that there was either are like a wheeler capacity. But what
Other thing I wanted to lay out there is an anti poverty movement. I think anyone will appreciate. Eleven percent
workers. Dont have a bank account and if you dont have a bank account
then you're spending six hundred dollars or more year on czech caching
he's money, wiring fees and even pawnshop lenders, it's more expensive to be poor, essentially because the year you actually getting whittled away. So you ve proposed something called the People's Bank of New York. Is that meant to address this problem area, the audits exactly right
The goal is to make basic financial services available to all New Yorkers, regardless of their documentation.
Immigration status said the city runs a free bank essentially
for anyone who's on bank, so we
Lord, whether the city could charter its own bank and found that it's actually more direct for us to have not profit that we then put some money into. I am for chartering. Public
by the way, but that would require Albany and we want
to start with something that we knew we can execute, are so let's talk about Albany from
New York City mares have had a famously
wasting time usually difficult time with New York State governors who, even though their up there
albanian are usually much lower profile. They actually have the upper hand in a lot of technical matters. So our current governor, Andrew Cuomo, like several of his predecessors, is
himself in a lot of trouble and may even be on the way out. That said, what would be your plan as a matter of New York City, chew,
develop our relationship with the New York State Governor, whoever it is concerned
bring the historic tension there's been between those two. I'm very
domestics, Stephen, that the main
the governor really should be able to work together, because our interest
I saw a line in this moment where
city is clearly the economic engine of the state, and I think one of my especial a bit
these is going to be that I can ignore conventional political incentives. I think a lot of folks in politics really want credit or attention, and
I don't care about any of those things. So if there are
governor estate legislator the loss to propose something and get all the credit I will be like Hell. Let's do it.
You know if they want me at the press, conference smiling and clapping behind them, I'll be there. If they want me nowhere near the press conference, I will not be there. So with that. As the backdrop, I don't see how you cannot have a productive relationship, you're. Also just gonna likeable, let's be
I must also thank you. Don't wanna do my best to be well liked by the folks in Albany do, and I think I can help them. I think that
being a human being and, like all, is a positive, and I think, trying to be helpful to positive. Ok
All well and good. Andrew Yang is likeable he's clever. He's got some good ideas. He wants to be helpful, he's even planning to throw the biggest
post reopening ceremony in the country, they would be.
I borough celebration new and take place in parks. It would have artists,
musicians. Speakers,
and be this massive best of all of
We ve gone through covered, and now we are back we're ready to live our lives. Celebrate and welcome back the rest of the world and it would be glorious,
but even a glorious party won't be able to jump start. An economy has taken such a beating after the break. How is that supposed to
and if you like what your hearing on economics renew today, why don't you give us?
reading, or red review on your podcast ass, an
you're there be sure to follow the other shows in our free economics, radio network, no stupid questions, people I mostly admire and dear,
breaks. The internet will be right back with Andrew gangs plan to reboot New York City
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Andrew Yang, his poor laid his quixotic presidential campaign into front runner status in the race to become the next mayor of New York City as such is being attacked from a variety of angles. A group called Asians against Yang, for instance, opposes him in part because he's taken some pro police stances and he's also come out against raising taxes on which New Yorkers
New York City voters, especially primary voters, tend to carry a long list of grievances, and,
They are not shy about hearing them, but the one
problem that just about everyone agrees is the most important problem for the next year. Is the economy how to lift New York out of the financial crater
it fell into because the pandemic,
we're down six hundred thousand jobs. Eighty eight percent of
commuters. Probably ninety percent of
so I will say: tourists are trickling back now. Seventy percent of some
way writer ship, and so we have to get ourselves back on our feet as quickly as possible
The municipal budget of ninety billion sounds like a lot until you reach,
then it's only nine percent
a bit less actually. But the city is economy as a whole.
The exercise is to use nine percent of the economy too.
to the other. Ninety one percent in two years
and I say two years because
Federal aid will make the city's budget hole for the next two years, but
is completely uncertain, whether we're going to get married after that, so we have no time to waste and we have two years to get this done. I guess really. The question is how
Do you avoid a eighteen? Seventy style melt down, slash, backslide and all the things it came.
On with that-
this to me really is the challenge. I think you can cut your weight a success and you have to try and avoid
This downward spiral, where people leave things
dice year, you cut services, people feel more secure and more people leave, and, in this case, about three hundred thousand families have left the city.
And a number of those individuals were frankly
business owners and high earners and taxpayers who have gone to lower tax jurisdictions. So-
we have to be very serious about trying to reconstitute the value, proposition and competitiveness of New York City as quickly as possible?
oh and not get ourselves into- are caught. Trenck cut shrink, cut, shrink cycle
That's one reason again why I'm so focused on these first two years, because we have to try to rebound as quickly as possible.
in twenty nineteen New York City got sixty six million tourists who spent about forty six.
billion dollars and supported over three hundred thousand jobs, which is about half the number of jobs were missing,
and a lot of those jobs where in restaurants and bars and tour bus companies and places that frankly, employee
folks, you maybe didn't, have very high levels of
education and savings, and so, if you're, trying to get our cities economy functioning, I give you want to try to bring tourist back as quickly as possible.
So the most basic thing you would do is literally to spend money on digital advertisements that pop up on people's phones saying like hey.
visited New York City and the smartest investment
when you're starting from zero, there's, always appointed
you spend more and it's not as effective, but when you're starting at zero, like the first hundred million you spend, ought to be very effective because you get target
All that have already been in New York City that have already demonstrated a propensity to travel and spend. Would you be willing to let's say, stand yourself in times square for twenty four hours straight and take,
Selfie with any one. You came to New York on one of these targeted campaigns. Yes, for sure I mean it
could be helpful. I'll do anything that I personally ten or so one source that I spoke with shoes.
former senior to be official and also had a long career in the private sector. He said the biggest problem facing the next May,
would be finding a way around. This paradox between them
need to grow and the political and social pressure against growth. That's coming, especially from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Some of your positions are popular with progressive. Some of your positions are anathema to progressive
How do you think about threading that needle may be from a psychic perspective as much as anything when I
New Yorkers around the city. Everyone wants to try and get our small businesses back up on their feet. Everyone wants to feel like their communities vibrant again, and I think that folks, who have had particular points of view when
it seemed like there were folks driving at a time when our communities being left behind it. It's a little bit different way.
We're all looking up, saying: ok,
We're down over half a million jobs. The city still feels wounded like job number. One is to get out
did he going again and then we can have very intelligent conversations about Hata Sulphur poverty and address how
communities have genuinely not been included in any of the economic growth, so I just don't think these things are mutually
I genuinely don't what about the business
De Minister with big business. So can you talk a little bit about rich people or wealth in New York City? As you know, did some people have left for lower tax jurisdictions? Some may come back. Some may not so there's losing some tax base. Airport is complicated by the fact that big firms are discovered
that business can be done without necessarily having multi billion dollar leases in midtown skyscrapers. That seems like it could be it.
And mental adjustment of how commerce happens in any city, but especially New York City
How do you think about that? So a lot of
I've been working remotely and the case that New York City has to make is that people are more collaborative creative, innovative, productive and even happier if they're, working together in a physical environment verses remotely
it's hard to build a cultural resume, its hard to get promoted or resume?
and by the way, it's easier to automate away or job if you're or resume. Because at this point Europe halfway removed so
We have to make a case very clearly that New York City is the place for a place based economy. Physical proximity is actually a competitive advantage for firms
highly competitive. Sometimes even winner takes all industries like, let's call it financed media technology.
our its culture and that, if you're playing to win in these fields, behooves you too
be in physical environment and women
to do everything in our power to help leaders of firms get people back in the office in a way that makes people safe, name
Some things you would do are their financial incentives are their tax incentives? Are their public relations campaigns to persuade people
Working in person is more necessary than frankly alot of people come to think it is one thing:
you could do is provide an example. So I am happy to say that
For him, this conversation city employees, are coming back the office. I believe, five days a week, we have to get our schools open.
And in my view, schools should be in person five days a week
and we can provide political cover for firms that are trying to bring people back and say, look getting people back in the office by days a week is,
huge plus for the city and your firm, and we should be championing this at every turn, and I would not be above having a campaign that rewards people, women,
come back the office in the form of maybe it gives her to have a catalogue of bars and restaurants and because part of the recovery has to be trying to get the restaurants and bars back on their feet as well. But when you agree that there is a non trivial chance that a big
chunk of commercial. Real estate will essentially lie unused, or you know semi fallow, over the next five or ten years. That's massive!
revenue. A lot more than a few plain loads of tourists could ever provide. That's a macro trend that you can't do that much about as mayor
So do you have any ideas for adjusting to what my
be that new reality. I think there are two things I can be true at once,
and one is that we should be fighting like mad to get people back to the office and make this case that this is a core not just for New York, but for firms unemployed.
Is but too I happened to agree with you that there is going to need to be an adjustment on a certain proportion of
Marshall Real estate and are right now. Commercial landlords are very reluctant to mark down their properties,
I think that there are going to be some downward price adjustments? I think they're going to be some down revaluation adjustments and I think there needs to be a reprocessing of a significant number of buildings towards something
Now there are certain things I think would be good for the city start ups and life science, belated lab space had been,
great, but there are also things that, frankly, I think I'm going to need to be more imaginative that are just better than him.
rebuilding gimme your most imaginative ideas. You have a lot of empty storefront,
the New York City right now and if you have it,
you, retail, establishment or restaurant.
There's going to be a very sharp reluctance to commit to a five year, commercial least, because you're not sure what the climate holds so
If you can lower that barrier and have it be but say a pop up, restaurant or a pop up retail space that has six or twelve month, commitment that something we should be trying to facilitate other storefront level
and then, even if you look at these commercial buildings, I think that having similar lower commitment leases bore
artists, for example, you can convert an office building into a public art space minorities can occupy it and, frankly, like that
economic value, drive for the landlords, gonna be not anywhere near that what they are hoping for it if it was filled with commercial tenants, but it still going to be vastly superior to having an empty and dark and building what about
converting commercial buildings to residential, whether its fair market subsidized for the homeless, etc.
We should be trying to convert any office building. That is convertible into housing. In my opinion, one
reasons I didn't lead with this. Is that it's a relatively low proportion of commercial office buildings that makes sense as housing, conversions why that alone,
It is that their laid out in a way that makes it difficult, there's not much plumbing on each lower. Sometimes footprint makes it so that you're gonna
wind up with apartments no windows. So there are some commercial buildings that makes sense as a conversion
buildings that make more sense, as housing and versions are hotels. If you have a hotel conversion, it can cost you have as much and take half the time as ground of construction how'd you like vertical farming.
I do like vertical farming. I have a plan for
stimulating urban agriculture and vertical farms are tremendous. I don't think we can do it for
a majority of these buildings, but for a handful for sure Newark cities. Famously there,
very, very hard to do business in especially for small businesses and every politician likes to say that small businesses, the life blood of New York City, but it's hard so
a business revenue nationwide is down a little bit more than thirty percent. Because of the pandemic, but in New York City, it's down more than fifty percent is so can,
especially how many empty storefront are right now and in fact there were before the pandemic in some neighborhoods. Can you tell me a few concrete things you'd like to do as mere that? Would
you get more viable, actually run a profitable small business in New York, while the first big thing. We
do is to be a more genuine partner for small businesses and, in some cases, get out of the way. I can't
are you how many small business owners have said to me that the only
here from the city, when they're getting checked up on for various requirements, that they got a fine of a thousand dollars, they didn't show up. At the hearing, and then it got doubled
and they said, I'm not paying. You don't, have the money to pay it and it's a heartbreaking message, because here some business owners are frank there, just trying to reopen
make it and the city instead of trying to help. Is there are being? Why did you do this? Did you do that? So the first thing we're going to do is declared
moratorium on small business, vines, say very clearly the small beer
donors, look, you are not a revenue so
the city. You are actually the lifeline desert, you're saying and if you do have allowed,
so some kind, you have a cure period. Indecisive fix it like I'm, not gonna, dean you and try and make it more difficult. The single
This thing we can do is to be a better partner and not get overly bureaucratic, with mom and pop businesses that are destroying open their doors and make it related to. This is that
we're going to make outdoor dining permanent in part because it
shown to drive small business revenue, uproar, Jason businesses by something like forty five, fifty percent. I read your in support of some sort of vacancy tax can tell me about not well. This is oriented towards the vacant
Storefront we're talking about the goal is to say, look if you ve got a vacant. Storefront does actually kind of negative value it. So we want to prompt you to get someone in there. A lot of
These commercial landowners have very large investment portfolios, and so we want to give people a kick in the pants to get somebody in their New York city.
public schools used to be considered literally among the best in the world,
and now they are certainly not the way
but they're not consider any one year's good there. A lot of
macro trends stood intersect with this. What do you mean
happen and what would you do to make New York City public schools better? I think
still many excellent public schools in New York City. We need to try and build on the successes that we do have we're spending a lot of money are on our schools and Michael would be to get more of their money.
Flowing towards areas where is really going to help our kids learn what I mean
by that is in the classroom? Writing teachers in many cases should be getting paid more than we can get more teachers per numbers,
students or teachers, AIDS. In some cases, I'd like to empower principles and administrators to be able to address students needs
more authoritatively in, not feel like they have to have the kid test to get into another school like enrichment programme. You also want to increase the number of charter schools, yes,
My position is that we should be utilizing the already authorized charters at state level that have already been authorized around in use and what about teacher tenure while it
This is a negotiation with the union. I earlier made a statement about teacher tenure being granted a bit too.
early in their time teaching. They didn't like that. So much when you said that
no, I don't think they did, but one thing I think most of us can agree on is that it's not a good thing if you have fifty
percent of teachers leaving the field within the first,
We are for years and so
you have to do more to try and support and retain teachers
our starting out, because that way to higher rate- and I think everyone would agree that having more experienced teachers is a win for us all, are both your kids in public schools?
you. My younger is in public school, my
Older is autistic and in a special needs school
let's say, I'm your media in New York City voter, and I hear this fella Andrew Yang, I state, while he sounds really bright and really
passionate inhuman down to earth with good new ideas to, but the latter
This time we took a chance for a high office.
one who never served in government at all, was Donald Trump and
he was a very good president. So
or even though Andrew Yang is plainly not the same persons Donald Trump too risky, I'm gonna go with. You know
eighteen million other people running for mayor many of them do have a lot of experience in city government. I think that's especially coming out of a pandemic. That's the wise choice. I dont want the why
EL the card this time, so you Andrey Yang to them say well well. First of all I see my gun,
flexible wildcard, but you know I've had experienced is, I think, a lot of new Yorkers
lay to as someone who's owned and operated a small business as someone who founded and ran a nonprofit, the part about running for president mostly were carefully to solve that aside. I don't
government is the source of all energy or ingenuity in our city. You're gonna need
activate the private sector, the philanthropic sector, the tech sector, the artists and cultural
meaning that there is so much vitality.
in our city that lies ahead
side of city agencies,
that there's an administrative element to this job that I will embrace their eyes a cheerleading aspect of this job that I will embrace and you have to look at the opposite side of this equation, which is Duke
who feel like our government agencies and bureaucracies have really been serving us at an optimum level of the law.
a number of years. I do. We think that what's been happening has been working and if you think it's been working great, I might not be the candidate that
one, but if you think that we can genuinely use a change that we need people and government that are practical, not
particularly ideological, does want to improve our way of life? Not behold in this.
the special interests that, frankly, have run. Our town lie done, I think I've agreed bet is Andrew Yang, a great that we'll find out soon enough whether New York City
voters thing so in the meantime, if you want to hear more from Yang check out episode, three sixty two: why is this man running for president,
Also on related topics? Episode for thirty,
The word from several months ago called is New York City over and from wave
I can twenty. Sixteen episode to forty two is the war
old, ready for a guaranteed basic income coming up next time on foot
I'm afraid you. What are you wearing right now, but I wearing apparel,
Vivian Flats
how many NBA players regularly get pedicure is ninety percent of what kind of animals have you been inches? I weep but shape and choose actually have you ever had people who want their foot surgically altered so that they will fit the fashionable shoes they want to wear better once a week. These shoes are killing next time on the shell until then take care of yourself, and if you can someone else too
Fr Economics radios produced by sticker and rent, but radio we can be reached at radio at for economics dotcom. The freak anomalous radio network also includes no stupid questions.
Paul I mostly admire and sue dear breaks, the internet, all of which you should probably listen to this episode was produced by Matthew Schwartz. Our staff also includes Allison, Craig Little red ribbon. Mark Mccluskey, Zactly Kinsky married Duke Immaterial.
lyric about it and Jacob Clemente and welcome to our newest playmates, Joel Meyer and Tricia Bonita we had held this week from Jasmine, cleaner or theme. Song is
your fortune by the hitchhikers. All the other music was composed by we scare you can get the entire archive of Reconnects radio on any part cast out if you'd like to read a transcript or the show notes which include links to the underlying research visit freak anomalies. Dotcom, as always thank you for listening, Stephen I've loved talking to you,
The best there is that what you do? I think you probably say that all the pakistan- but that's ok, you're politician- I after lie once in a while.
the economic radio network,
teacher.
Transcript generated on 2021-07-06.