May 26, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on FUND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Advances in medical technology have dramatically increased our lifespans and quality of life. A straight line can be drawn between the advent of vaccines, antiseptics, antibiotics, and other elements of modern medicine and the vastly improved health of Americans. Very few areas of technological innovation have even come close to that type of return on investment.

We should continue to promote innovation in this area, both in the development of new technology, and in the way we use currently existing technology to benefit our health. This is particularly true in rural areas and underserved populations where there are not currently strong financial incentives to provide preventative care.

"We can use technology much more effectively to improve health outcomes if we try to keep people healthier and prevent problems before they become serious rather than waiting until people come into the doctor’s office or hospital. Right now, we invest a ton in treatment - we should be doing the same thing for preventative care and technology measures that keep you out of the hospital."

"Promote the use of telemedicine for rural areas.
Promote the use of AI for social workers.
Promote the use of AI and telecounseling for those who need a psychologist.
Create tax incentives for people to use these services.
Look into regulations preventing the use of these technologies, especially in areas that currently require licensing.
Invest more heavily in research on innovative medical technologies.
Provide robust incentives via a “Race to the Top” for companies to improve health outcomes and preventative care."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/medical-technology-innovation/

May 26, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on FUND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Advances in medical technology have dramatically increased our lifespans and quality of life. A straight line can be drawn between the advent of vaccines, antiseptics, antibiotics, and other elements of modern medicine and the vastly improved health of Americans. Very few areas of technological innovation have even come close to that type of return on investment.

We should continue to promote innovation in this area, both in the development of new technology, and in the way we use currently existing technology to benefit our health. This is particularly true in rural areas and underserved populations where there are not currently strong financial incentives to provide preventative care.

"We can use technology much more effectively to improve health outcomes if we try to keep people healthier and prevent problems before they become serious rather than waiting until people come into the doctor’s office or hospital. Right now, we invest a ton in treatment - we should be doing the same thing for preventative care and technology measures that keep you out of the hospital."

"Promote the use of telemedicine for rural areas.
Promote the use of AI for social workers.
Promote the use of AI and telecounseling for those who need a psychologist.
Create tax incentives for people to use these services.
Look into regulations preventing the use of these technologies, especially in areas that currently require licensing.
Invest more heavily in research on innovative medical technologies.
Provide robust incentives via a “Race to the Top” for companies to improve health outcomes and preventative care."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/medical-technology-innovation/

May 26, 2019

With Stores Gone, Farmers Market To Fill Void In North St. Louis Food Desert

When several Shop ‘N Save grocery stores closed last year in north St. Louis, residents in some neighborhoods were left without easy access to healthy produce.

A local nonprofit organization, A Red Circle, aims to fill the void with a monthly community farmers market that does more than just sell fresh food.

“It’s going to be a very cool farmers market with a purpose,” Red Circle founder and CEO Erica Williams said.

The Red Circle Healthy Community Market will kick off today at Zion Travelers Missionary Baptist Church in Riverview. Organizers plan to hold the market every last Saturday of the month through the end of summer.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/stores-gone-farmers-market-fill-void-north-st-louis-food-desert

May 26, 2019

The US-China trade war, the cost of paper, and the economics behind roleplaying games

Since early 2018, the United States has been in the grips of a trade war with China. A series of escalating tariff increases on imports between the two countries has hit both hard, along with the global economy. After a short truce, negotiations appear to have failed, and President Donald J. Trump has announced plans to increase tariffs on new categories of products to 25%.

Those categories include books, dice, cards, and miniatures: the core components of roleplaying games.

I spoke to a few of the people behind some of our favourite games to get their views on what impact the tariff increase might have on the RPG industry. What I got was a glimpse at the economics behind the games we play, and why the price of roleplaying games may be rising — for more complicated reasons.

The complexities of the US’s trade relations with China are beyond the scope of this article, so it’s not something I’m going to go into in any detail here. In short, the Trump administration is presently engaged in a trade war with China.

https://d100news.com/2019/05/23/the-us-china-trade-war-the-cost-of-paper-and-roleplaying-games/

May 26, 2019

The US-China trade war, the cost of paper, and the economics behind roleplaying games

Since early 2018, the United States has been in the grips of a trade war with China. A series of escalating tariff increases on imports between the two countries has hit both hard, along with the global economy. After a short truce, negotiations appear to have failed, and President Donald J. Trump has announced plans to increase tariffs on new categories of products to 25%.

Those categories include books, dice, cards, and miniatures: the core components of roleplaying games.

I spoke to a few of the people behind some of our favourite games to get their views on what impact the tariff increase might have on the RPG industry. What I got was a glimpse at the economics behind the games we play, and why the price of roleplaying games may be rising — for more complicated reasons.

The complexities of the US’s trade relations with China are beyond the scope of this article, so it’s not something I’m going to go into in any detail here. In short, the Trump administration is presently engaged in a trade war with China.

https://d100news.com/2019/05/23/the-us-china-trade-war-the-cost-of-paper-and-roleplaying-games/

May 26, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on INCREASE ASSISTANCE FOR SINGLE PARENTS

Being a parent is the toughest job on the planet, even with a partner and strong extended family to rely on. It’s even tougher for the 13.6 million single parents out there, most of them mothers. The numbers are set to rise sharply – today, 40% of the children born in the United States are born to unmarried mothers, up from 15% in 1980.

We should be doing more to help them and the approx. 21 million children being raised in single-parent households.

Outside of programs such as the Freedom Dividend to raise them out of poverty and support their ability to provide food and housing for their family, the best thing we can do for these parents is to help them find and build a support network.

"Being a parent has been an experience like no other - I can’t imagine going through it alone. We need to do all we can to support the single parents out there, particularly single mothers, as they have to balance more demands than the rest of us can understand. As President, I will make helping single parents a key priority of the Federal government in ways big and small. It's vital to the future of our society that single parents get the support that they need. It takes a village to raise a child, and investing in children pays off in healthy, productive adults."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/single-parent-assistance/

May 26, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on INCREASE ASSISTANCE FOR SINGLE PARENTS

Being a parent is the toughest job on the planet, even with a partner and strong extended family to rely on. It’s even tougher for the 13.6 million single parents out there, most of them mothers. The numbers are set to rise sharply – today, 40% of the children born in the United States are born to unmarried mothers, up from 15% in 1980.

We should be doing more to help them and the approx. 21 million children being raised in single-parent households.

Outside of programs such as the Freedom Dividend to raise them out of poverty and support their ability to provide food and housing for their family, the best thing we can do for these parents is to help them find and build a support network.

"Being a parent has been an experience like no other - I can’t imagine going through it alone. We need to do all we can to support the single parents out there, particularly single mothers, as they have to balance more demands than the rest of us can understand. As President, I will make helping single parents a key priority of the Federal government in ways big and small. It's vital to the future of our society that single parents get the support that they need. It takes a village to raise a child, and investing in children pays off in healthy, productive adults."

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/single-parent-assistance/

May 25, 2019

The City That's Giving People Money

Is Maggie Denang deserving of your money? How about Tomas Vargas Jr.?

Denang and Vargas are residents of Stockton, a high-poverty city on the outskirts of the Bay Area’s technology-and-wealth boom. They are also participants in a much publicized, pathbreaking project, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, in which 130 people are receiving $500 a month for 18 months, to use however they see fit. The experiment raises the question of whether Vargas and Denang are worthy of no-strings-attached cash, or whether anyone is, or everyone is.

The program’s proponents have argued that its test subjects would be good stewards of the resources. They would use the money to improve their lives, keep the bills paid, and plan for the future—and Stockton would benefit from a little economic stimulus as they did. But the project has country-sized ambitions, not just neighborhood-sized ones. It wants to show the United States, in this age of late-capitalist excess, fear-stoking automation, polarized politics, and surging socialism, that individuals are the best judges of how to spend the resources that they have.

SEED is the brainchild of Stockton’s mayor, Michael D. Tubbs, and the Economic Security Project, a think tank and advocacy group focused on studying and promoting cash transfers in the United States. The pilot had few enrollment criteria: The recipients had to be adults in a Stockton neighborhood where the median income was at or below the city average of $46,033 a year. SEED sent letters to a randomly selected group of households meeting those criteria, and then signed up a randomly selected group of individuals who responded. In February, enrollees began receiving $500 a month, loaded onto a debit card. They were told to use the money however they wanted, with researchers studying how they fared and a group of participants agreeing to talk with the media about their lives starting this week.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/stockton-california-giving-people-money/590191/?

May 25, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on IMPROVE THE AMERICAN SCORECARD

Traditionally, the economy has been measured by looking at the GDP or the stock market. Employment rates and household income are also used to measure how the average worker is doing.

However, even the creator of the GDP admits that it doesn’t really reflect the full story. And, as economic inequality rises and the fruits of society’s labors accrue to fewer individuals, it’s become obvious that we need to expand our definition of economic prosperity past a single number. The bottom 80% of Americans only own 8% of stocks and rising GDP has virtually no relationship with each citizen’s wellbeing.

When you measure something, you implicitly set your policy goals. By focusing our measurement on GDP, we’ve promoted production over all else. It’s time to start measuring economic prosperity using a wider index that measures human as well as monetary indicators, such as (but not limited to):

Quality of life and health-adjusted life expectancy
Happiness/Well-Being and Mental Health
Underemployment
Income Inequality
Consumer and Student Debt
Work and civic engagement levels
Volunteerism
Infant mortality
Quality of infrastructure
Access to education
Marriage and divorce rates
Substance abuse and related deaths
National optimism
Personal dynamism/economic mobility

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/measuring-the-economy/

May 25, 2019

Andrew Yang Policy on IMPROVE THE AMERICAN SCORECARD

Traditionally, the economy has been measured by looking at the GDP or the stock market. Employment rates and household income are also used to measure how the average worker is doing.

However, even the creator of the GDP admits that it doesn’t really reflect the full story. And, as economic inequality rises and the fruits of society’s labors accrue to fewer individuals, it’s become obvious that we need to expand our definition of economic prosperity past a single number. The bottom 80% of Americans only own 8% of stocks and rising GDP has virtually no relationship with each citizen’s wellbeing.

When you measure something, you implicitly set your policy goals. By focusing our measurement on GDP, we’ve promoted production over all else. It’s time to start measuring economic prosperity using a wider index that measures human as well as monetary indicators, such as (but not limited to):

Quality of life and health-adjusted life expectancy
Happiness/Well-Being and Mental Health
Underemployment
Income Inequality
Consumer and Student Debt
Work and civic engagement levels
Volunteerism
Infant mortality
Quality of infrastructure
Access to education
Marriage and divorce rates
Substance abuse and related deaths
National optimism
Personal dynamism/economic mobility

https://www.yang2020.com/policies/measuring-the-economy/