Andrew Yang is launching a nonprofit to make universal basic income a reality


Andrew Yang's $1,000 promise may be coming to a town near you.
The entrepreneur is following his failed 2020 bid with a nonprofit dedicated to bringing his signature campaign promise to life, Yang announced Thursday. Humanity First will turn one New York town into a testing ground for the universal basic income Yang constantly promised during his run, along with other initiatives that make the nonprofit basically an extension of Yang's campaign.
In a beta version of Yang's so-called "freedom dividend," Humanity First — a name borrowed from one of Yang's campaign slogans — will give $500,000 to a to-be-determined town in the form of $1,000-per-month checks for each resident. Also on Humanity First's list is a "data dividend" program that will use its funds to protect people's data privacy rights.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The funding for the UBI initiative comes from venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and even a professional poker player, as well as some anonymous donors, The New York Times reports. So far, Humanity First has received $3 million in pledges to make the UBI pilots work. "My hands were tied as a political candidate to some extent," Yang told the Times, so now he has a chance to "get to work" and actually give his policies a whirl.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery case
Speed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison
-
Koreans detained in US Hyundai raid return home
Speed Read Over 300 Koreans were detained at the plant last week
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants