Is Andrew Yang’s “Freedom Dividend” A Trojan Horse?

In the last few days, there has been a sudden surge of Bernie supporters attacking Andrew Yang online. There is nothing inherently wrong with that; it’s to be expected because Yang is starting to get more attention generally. But what is surprising is that all these Bernie supporters seemed to be focused on spreading one specific claim: “Yang’s Freedom Dividend is a trojan horse, a libertarian plot to dismantle welfare.”

Anyone familiar with Yang’s plan knows that it is “opt in.” No one is left worse off. No one is cut from any welfare programs. In fact, the Freedom Dividend even stacks on top of Social Security and Social Security Insurance. Yang has always expressed that he does not want to take anyone out of a program that they are depending on to survive.

So where is the far left getting this idea about Yang? It seems to have its origin in a clip from his appearance on the Rubin Report. In the clip, Andrew states that many people would rather have $1000 dollars free and clear than some means tested benefit. As a result, the enrollment in these programs will shrink.

There are currently something like 80 welfare programs in the US. They’re incredibly expensive to oversee. It’s mystifying why the far left is so eager to protect the status quo. They can’t point to anyone who is worse off because of the Freedom Dividend, but this isn’t about facts or the details of Yang’s policy. This is all about about perception. For this group, Yang’s original sin is that he’s not a 74 year old socialist. They don’t trust him and they may never fully come around. There are legitimate critiques to be made of Yang, but trying to fear monger and misrepresent his policy as something that will hurt poor people is simply wrong.