Summary

TVU 21 ANDREW YANG CEDAR FALLS IA MOMS FOR ANDREW YANG EVENT ABC UNI 121319 2020 EVELYN [13:38:36] Thank you so much, Kelly, for that. Do I need this? Can anyone hear me? Yes. Thank you so much for that introduction, Kelly. And thank you so much, Moms for Yang for having me here. Today is such a pleasure to be here and such an honor to be speaking with a group of people who have given so much of your energy and support to my husband, Andrew, and to our family. As many of you know, I'm a stay at home mom. Now to our two boys, Christopher and Damian. They are the light of our lives. [13:39:10] And I am involved in every aspect of their lives and educate and education and even the PTA president. So shout out to all the PTA. [13:39:23] I've also had a professional career in marketing over the years. I graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in economics and I spent several years working at L'Oreal, launching and managing various brands like Andrew. Forcing companies large and small. I even went on to get my masters in professional studies. But do you know what they don't tell you when you are getting your degrees or working at a Fortune 500 company or helping to launch a startup? [13:39:54] And being a mom is a job and no one is a champion for stay at home mom. Even though it's irrefutable that what we do has value. When I was working outside the home, there was never any question that the work I did deserve compensation. Now that I'm working the hardest, most intense job of my career and I used to have five thirty a.m. shift in high school. [13:40:23] Now every day is in my 30s and a 1 p.m. shift and a 6 p.m. shift and an 8 10 p.m. shift, sometimes a 3 a.m. shift and just for fun. [13:40:36] But you know, my job now is not even close to being feels that way. [13:40:43] I appreciate that Andrew actually talks about this. [13:40:47] Having a politician say that the work women do in our society is the most unrecognized and uncompensated work. It's amazing. [13:40:56] What's even more amazing is that I never said to Andrew, go run for president. The work I do at home can be valued. [13:41:02] Finally, a thousand dollars a month would be a really nice start. And you can call it the freedom dividend. [13:41:09] That wasn't me. That was all Andrew. He has always recognized the importance of the work that means to you. And he believes that parents need a choice. When we had Christopher, I was shocked. I was shocked by the overwhelming joy that he brought to our family. But I was shocked by the amount of work and the expense. Before Christopher was diagnosed with autism, we already knew he was different. It was clear to us that he really needed me to stay with him. And I had the fortune I had the fortune to be able to make that choice and stay at home with him full time. [13:41:53] Now, so many Americans in our society do not have that choice. And it's a shame because our society does not value that kind of work. So what I want to hear it say here today is that I believe we've earned that choice. And I think that what we need as women and caregivers is access to quality child care when we want it. But also a mechanism that recognizes the work we are already doing every day. In many cases, moms are making great sacrifices to be at home, taking care of our families. Sometimes it's not just children. Sometimes it's aging elderly parents. So caretaking doesn't just apply to children. [13:42:54] And let's not forget all of the single moms out there and single dads who are heroes making enormous sacrifices every day to make sure that their family has what they need. It is absolutely critical that we, the mothers and caretakers of society, have a voice and a choice between his paid family leave plan and the freedom dividend. Andrew is the only one speaking to that boy's. I and what I love so much about the freedom dividend is that it actually gives a lifeline to our children so that if they ever fall in hard times, that they won't face extreme poverty and homelessness and hunger. [13:43:49] It ensures that the country will have their back the same way that we have their back now. So I'm so proud of the work that Andrew is doing to try to strengthen our families and our communities. And I'm so honored to introduce to you today the next president of the United States, my husband, Andrew. YANG [13:44:30] Thank you all so much. Let's give. But I will end my. [13:44:39] Occasionally, people thank me for running for president, and I say thank my wife because once she allowed me to run and number two, she was the one who is sacrificing the most by taking care of our kids. While I was on the road three, four, five days a week, I would not be running for president if not for everyone and the boys in the most fundamental of ways you are. Most of you know that Christopher is special needs. He was our older son. [13:45:09] And when he was born, we're first time parents and so we weren't sure whether what he was experiencing was normal because you don't remember or several kids. You're like maybe two year olds react like that. Maybe three year olds react like that. But there was this real sense of stress and anxiety. And everyone champion. Christopher at every turn. She was like, Batman is what you do. It was like where she was like a pre-teen, like super detective. They didn't do it. And then eventually she brought him to see a doctor within a week. [13:45:41] And it was determined that he was autistic. We found out when he was about to turn 4. And it was a massive relief for the family. Massive relief for me. I know parents react differently when they find out that their kids are autistic. For me, it was actually this giant weight lifted because I felt like we understood it. But it also made me so profoundly grateful to everyone, because if you'd left it to me like I was playing badminton, you know, mean like I wasn't allowed to know a bad thing, but I was like, Dad, I was fine and everything would be like that. [13:46:18] So come on. A lot of hard. [13:46:23] So they went and when I got them, well, we got this diagnosis. I was like, oh, my gosh, that explains so much. [13:46:32] And now we know that we can start trying to put resources in place to help Christopher develop. But at that time, there was three and a half years were so stressful. And I saw how that period of time could tear our family apart. It's one reason why I'm championing free marriage counseling, because if a couple wants to stay together, we should help them do so. And then there are very, very tough times when you look at someone and you feel like that your love is being tested. [13:47:02] And then if you get through that period, then you can look back at them together hand in hand and say, wow, that was a very tough period. But many families aren't able to get through that time. We need to make sure that new moms can spend time with their kids. And I said in the last debate, there are only two countries in the world that don't have this a true story. And my gosh, sixth, like so I didn't write a president for about two years. [13:47:27] And so there was a period about a year ago when I tried to figure out which countries did not have mandatory V for new moms. And there were five countries on that list. It was Liberia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea and the United States of America. That was the list. Now, here's the kicker. Lesotho, Swansea land in Liberia actually passed it in the last year. [13:48:00] And so now the list is just US and Papua New Guinea. [13:48:05] And so literally the list changed for the president to leave America alone with a lot of New Guinea. [13:48:12] And that's how ridiculous we are. That's how brainwashed we are into thinking that somehow we are all subject to this capital efficiency machine and that it's somehow a, quote unquote, bad for business. They marched and spent time with their kids. I'm a business guy, and I know it doesn't seem like what the practical impact of not having paid family leave for new moms is that you push moms out of the workforce, which is terrible for any organization like you have a woman. [13:48:52] That's that's key to the organization and that she feels like she has to choose between family and work and that she chooses family and then you lose it. [13:49:00] Like that's a disaster for business. It's a disaster for business. If you have kids who are growing up and not getting every possible resource that they can so they can grow and mature into strong adults. That's very bad for business. So as a parent and a human being, it's obvious that we all know that we should have paid family leave decades ago. So I'm saying six months for new parents that you can divvy up between the parents. I'm also saying we should have a thousand dollars a month for every adult to take that weight off. [13:49:36] Many, many parents. And I'm saying we should have child care and pre pre-K starting at age 3. If you decide that you want to either drop the kid off or put them into the school system. And studies have shown that the sooner you get the child into some kind of nurturing environment in that way, if it's home. Great. But if you want to return to the workforce or you're already in the workforce, do you want to drop? The kid also plays. We should be paying for that. I understand what tradeoffs families are making all the time. [13:50:09] Well, you look up and say, how much does a care cost? Look at you like one day care cost. Guess what? [13:50:14] And then you're like, OK, so if you go to work, all of the money that you'll be making will go to daycare. [13:50:21] So why are you working again? Is the daycare going to be better for the child at that time with you? [13:50:30] No, no, no. Like that. That's it. And then some enterprising moms out there say, you know what? I'm starting daycare that I had. That does happen somewhat because we look at the prices and you're like, I have to be able to do better than that. [13:50:45] How many of you can relate to this? Some of this stuff. I'm not a fan as I am. All right. So so we have to put resources into our hands and our communities where our families can start to address our needs and also pool resources so that if you do want a daycare, it's not going to break the bank. It's not going to be more than your paycheck. It's not really something that is cost prohibitive for families. And this isn't an instance where an investment on the part of our community actually pays for itself many, many times over. [13:51:14] This country's become. Pennywise and pound foolish, as I'm you know, and all our measurements are driving us away from things that would actually make our communities and families stronger, healthier, like we worship the stock market and GDP while our stress levels are through the roof. Anxiety, depression. Our communities are in a deep depression. By any measurement that we use. That's not the stock market. That's essentially it as your president. I'm going to help us evolve to the real measurements that would tell us how our families have been. So, Ellen, I just want to say I love you so much. I'm so grateful to you. Just talking to some of the banks. [13:52:00] And thank you for allowing me to run for president. [13:52:03] And thank you for making our family strong role. I do not believe any of this without you. Thank you so much. [13:52:17] So today is a bad day. Yes. So we'd love to take some questions from you. It should all and I don't think you need the money. I want to give it to you anyway. [13:52:28] Thanks. My name is Jim Young and I am a physician and I am a big fan of single payer and Medicare for all. My question is this how do we convince Americans that this system is better than their private insurance? And in the long run is going to be better for all of us. [13:52:49] What kind of position that a physician. Well, hats off to you. You must have been a lot of. I agree that we need a Medicare for all system that provides health care to everyone in the country. How do you persuade Americans? To me, it's something that we have to demonstrate over time. I don't think you can legislate away all the private insurers without causing millions of Americans to be very upset, particularly because at least some groups of workers and unions actually negotiated away wages for robust health care plans. [13:53:28] And if you say, hey, now I've got this public plan, they'll say, well, where were you 10 years ago? And we're negotiating this contract. So we need to put coverage in place and then sweep the private insurers out of the market over time. But you don't legislate that. What you do is you've demonstrated through saying, look, this is actually more efficient and more affordable, lower stress and higher quality. I'm confident we can do that because just like you, I've looked at the inside of the health care system and I've seen just how much money is getting spent on things that have nothing to do with our health. [13:54:02] That's the kind of thing that I know is the same thing I said about how our economy is not designed for us. Our health care systems are really designed for us either at this point. It's designed to make the drug companies or device companies and the private insurance maximum profit and revenue. So then the big confusion in politics right now is how do you pay for health care? What you know, what Americans know is we're already paying through the nose for health care on so many levels. And that if you rationalize the costs and start directing the resources towards us, we can reform the system in a way that makes us stronger and healthier very quickly. [13:54:38] But we have to do that and ensure that it's working. And as someone who's running a company, I spent a lot of time on health insurance. Even though health insurance had nothing to do with my business, you know, it's like you have plans. You go to employees, you say, hey, you're the premiums. Here's what we'll pay for. You pay for this. Couple of things. Number one, prices only ever went up like the health insurance company never contacted a business. It was like great news. It's going down. It's never happened in American history. [13:55:09] Number two. If someone had come to me, you let's call it the government and said, hey, guess what is the public option? And you can get health insurance off of the back of your business and you pay into the system. I would have jumped for joy because it wasn't just money. It was the fact that I had to become an expert in health insurance, even though I had nothing to do with my business. I didn't have difficult conversations with my employees about their health insurance, which they also I wanted to be. [13:55:35] None of my business. So even if the economics were exactly the same, I would have been thrilled with some sort of public option. So if we provide the public option and provide employers that kind of choice, then the employers are going to do our work for us to get a leg up and say, hey, guess what? There is this public plan. It's gonna be great for you. And that's how we convince the American people over time. [13:56:05] I'm Christine Carpenter and I'm a member of the Beyond Team, which is the only comprehensive breast cancer organization in the area, and I represent a team on the board of the National Breast Cancer Resources and the National Breast Cancer Coalition has a public policy platform, which I want to thank you for signing the public platform. The first. [13:56:31] No one is guaranteed access to quality, evidence based, patient centered health care for all. And so we thank you for that. Number two is making sure that there is adequate and sufficient research that is that has advocates at the tables and in all decision making. Plus, it's transparent and and is really looking at the issues we need to look at. And the third is making sure that educated patient advocates are at all decision making tables for health care, research, public policy. And I thank you very much for signing me. Did it? Sure. And I was like, thank you. I don't know all those night. Thank you very much. [13:57:11] That's a great question. I mean. [13:57:17] I was proud to sign that pledge. I mean, there are fundamental concerns from. Where do we go? I'm not sure. [13:57:26] I have a question, but I don't come Minneapolis to be here today. My father writes books and I do not to help her. The doctors, nobody visits. So I. I don't really have a question, but I want you to know that as her daughter and my brother. So we should be able to help our mom Oh, maybe I can do is pay her rent, pay for her food and just not function well. But nobody listens. And so I just want you to think when you make it, when you're president. I wanted you to like. Think us. I came here. Which side around her? Oh, no. And she hasn't met my brother's daughter. Just because she's just that. So I just I just wanted a story out there. [13:58:28] When the president said something comes across, he does not come across my desk a plate for this because we have a mental health crisis in this country as. As a result, we need to do my brother's like clinical psychology professor. A sense as to how deeply I believe in the fact that we need to destigmatize these conditions at every level. So I'll have a psychologist in the White House. I thought it was a good idea before the current administration sources. But that poor boy, Omar, we need to have that resource in place so that you and your brother can bring her to a professional. [13:59:17] You can see what might be able to help her and whether it's therapy or the right set of drugs. And the fact is, these drugs, if you can have a non pharmaceutical response, that's better. But it sounds like your mother is someone who would probably be a candidate for some of the entire schizophrenia, drugs and the intense schizophrenia. Drugs are very, very hit or miss in the sense that if you're sitting with a doctor, you know what they'll say. They'll say try these drugs. It has worked for some of my patients. And then there's like a multi month period where the person tries to do drugs and see whether they improve their condition. [14:00:03] And then oftentimes it'll have some effect, but some side effects. And you come back X months later and then try another drug. So we need to put those mental resources in your family's hands so that we can get your mom to a point where you and your brother will be fine with bringing her grandkids to visit her and spend some time with her. I'd love to help make that happen. Surprised President. Thank you, a. [14:00:39] Wow. Thank you. Thank you. [14:00:44] Welcome back. OK. No doubt. [14:00:53] I'd just like to say you're not alone. My mother also has paranoid schizophrenia. She was diagnosed when I was 13 years old. Over twenty five years ago, I brought in more than 10 years for them to get her medication right so she could just function. And still, a lot of times she lives in this groggy state, whether she really has no emotions. But her her problem is now that she's living on disability and. I have two daughters in college. [14:01:25] I don't have that money and also support my mother. With the current system where she can't work at all. She could probably do a few things, there really is something that you it would probably benefit her life and give her a social outlet. But with the current income based welfare programs we have, she's not able to make any money otherwise. The docs what she hasn't seen. Yeah, so you talked about the importance of the universality of freedom dividend and how that's important for people who are receiving social programs. [14:02:02] Thank you. Thank you for sharing. [14:02:08] I mean, I get her story, their story. It's in so many of our families. I have an aunt who was a schizophrenic, so. Most of us know. And one of the reason why I'm so parched by the freedom dividend is that it applies and dependent on whether you work and generate some additional income. I've heard heartbreaking stories of people who are off disability who would like to work or even volunteer, but they're afraid to do so because if they do, then they'll lose their benefits. And that's a very negative. Aspect of our current disability programs and welfare programs work, you do better, you get less. [14:02:49] With a universal basic income, you do better, you do better. And we all have a foundation on the floor. Now, the foundation of Florida's universal basic income, that's not enough to solve all of our problems. We have to continue doing more. One of the things I say is that it's like a foundation that you keep on trying to build a structure on top of. But it's an excellent foundation. That's a much better foundation than anything else that we have right now. That for you and your family, it sounds like your daughter, your college age, times, I guess. [14:03:15] So if you could imagine you getting a thousand bucks a month in each of your daughters, you a thousand bucks a month, then that would probably help with their school loans and some of the financial pressures you feel day to day. And then if you wanted to try and help your mom, you might have a better able to do so even independently. One of the things I love about this, this foundation, is it gives us all economic resources to be able to enact our own values, whether that's taking care of ourselves or family members doing something positive in the community. [14:03:47] But I agree with you that our current programs are very, very poorly designed. I have met thousands of Americans who essentially just live in fear of losing their income and that their behavior is guided by that. [14:03:59] And that should not be what government is for. Government should not be for scaring our citizens into saying like, hey, if you do this, all of a sudden your lifetime is going to get cut. This country should work for us. We are the owners and shareholders of this country. We can rewrite the rules so that it benefits us and our families. One thing I'll say to you in Iowa, there's a magical place because each of you is worth like a thousand Californians in terms of numbers. [14:04:25] You look around this room. This is like a football stadium. Californians fly. Really? So you come to Iowa. Does it matter how many people are there? [14:04:33] So I was there. I read. [14:04:38] They were persistent. So what I say to folks in Iowa is if it's not working for you, it's not working. [14:04:47] And you have the power to change it. We have to make it work for you all. You're not a voter. Oh, slick. [14:04:54] You sell. The freedom to the bill will be a huge game. [14:05:03] Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. And I agree the. Absolutely. And the mental health crisis in our country. But it's also an economic resource issue. [14:05:13] And I would love the freedom dividend so much. It is literally the reason why I let Andrew write for president. Like it when he told me about it. I seriously like how we are such a rich country. How is this not a thing yet? And I said, OK, go out there, spread the message, but everyone will jump on this bandwagon before long. And then you can come up to say what she said was, Andrew. [14:05:43] Every candidate is going to be champion in universities. And then who doesn't? [14:05:51] It did not crazy that they all haven't picked up universal basic income, as, you know, part of their healthy. [14:05:58] It's crazy to me. But what I love about the freedom dividend is that it's super charges, families, communities. And it's not just you as an individual getting a thousand dollars a month. It's your husband or wife or sibling. [14:06:13] And then you as a family are in a better position to help your, you know, your your mother or your dad or anyone in your family that needs help. All of a sudden, we collectively, as a family, as a community, are better enabled to have them to lend them some money, to bring them to services, have access to services that aren't covered by insurance. So this is so cash. We get it. And I'm I'm so glad to be able to be standing here. [14:06:44] I just wasn't expecting to be standing up here with you. I hope you don't mind. [14:06:55] I feel like what you for, Madeleine, is worth like a thousand words, because at this point on the trail I must have said like many thousands of words or so that I could just find anything I say, please, please help me. So I began to say you on me up. So some of those photos were being taken and then someone, like, ordered me to move. And then they then they apologized. And I was like, hey, I'm married. I think I get over it right all the time. [14:07:26] Sir, you don't know that that's important to me. [14:07:31] Don't say mental. [14:07:35] I have a question here. [14:07:38] So my son is almost 16 now, but when he was born, I was in the military and I was far from home. And what I knew was just me and my husband and my son was a very high needs baby colic. Just the two of us. [14:07:56] It was very hard. [14:07:59] The hardest thing of my life was having more and no one around. [14:08:04] And my son doesn't have special needs. So I would. [14:08:08] I heard Andrew say a few things about having a baby and then realizing that, you know, what am I, a bad parent? What's what's going on? I'd love to hear how you felt as a new mom with. And you didn't know he was against whom? [14:08:25] Especially so that I did something that everyone picked up on the fact way. We the kids crying. [14:08:35] Well, how how that I absolutely relate to you. And even though, you know, our kids in college, I went to one of those parent support meetings early on, new moms. Anyway, the subject was sleep. And I remember listening to the other moms talking. And I said to myself, I would die to be any one of you because, you know, they would feel like my child's waking up every three hours, every four hours, sleep. And and Edith, there's no end. [14:09:12] It's hard to go on your day. You go about your day. When you don't when you're not getting sleep, it affects everything you do. So I think that is something that, you know, a lot of people are very lucky. [14:09:24] They have really when I say it like, you know, high functioning babies, you know, there are only a couple of things that you need to do, right. Eat well and sleep well and well. [14:09:37] That's like 90 percent of their existence. So, you know, our child, he had a hard. He had a hard time eating and sleeping. And I was like, that is 80 percent of your job. [14:09:49] You know what it was? [14:09:54] So what I hear you. That's a really tough time. [14:09:57] And people don't tell you these things. You know, when you're at the hospital, they send you home. There's no manual. And you're expected to kind of just wing it. [14:10:06] And I think one of the things that I love so much about Andrew's platform is that, you know, paid family leave policy and so, so critical that we have that time and the money to be able to focus on our family early on and get the support from our family and other community. [14:10:28] And that was just a better built up system than those things will come, because you have to put the resources in place and have the expectation that moms are going to be with their babies when they're born. And then those you know, those support groups will build around them, because right now there's no expectation that women will have the opportunity to be with their kids. You know, the expectation is that you have the baby and you're at work the next day, which is. [14:10:57] I mean, I had a very, very tough because Christopher just seemed upset. To be awake or anything. [14:11:06] Every time. Like when we were a second son. He woke up, he didn't scream his head off. It was like, wow. [14:11:15] Woke up, was like looked around like leaves like there. [14:11:20] But, you know, the difference between like staying up and being up and then waking up and going back to sleep is so much worse for you. [14:11:30] But, you know, it's so worth it. Right. So are. [14:11:34] Yeah. You guys have time for one more. [14:11:41] I'm so I'm the lactation profession. But the pilot. [14:11:45] Let's her. Yeah, but that's I I really am. [14:11:52] What I like about your platform is about the AARP and its threat to our economy. And I can't believe that you're the only candidate that's even mentioning that and how important that is for everybody. Because I feel like the the a lot of the I has taken over jobs of the people that voted Trump in. That's what I think. But anyway, I just would like you to talk more about that, because I really I read your book and I've been rooting for you since May. [14:12:31] So I probably will. Thank you. Yeah. I mean, let's remember, was a helping for. [14:12:43] Was that in such stress or in that if there are people that tell you that it doesn't being your trouble without it, like nothing else matters for the long? Like I I'm told that folks feel like, you know, very efficient because you're like, hey, why shouldn't I be able to do this thing that seems so core to it? But many, many people struggle. Yeah. Anyone. So thank you for that. Artificial intelligence that. I, too, am shocked that this is not front and center in American life. And sometimes I think about a reality where I did not vote for president. Do you think anyone would be talking about this? [14:13:25] The president debate stage next week, like, you know, none of the men would be talking about the fundamental economic issues that got Donald Trump into office that are not going to take off. If you're generous, you could say it's because they don't understand those issues, because if you have been in a bubble, it's called Washington, D.C. for a couple of decades. And frankly, you were born in an era where technology was not developing as quickly as it is now. Maybe you've never even read your own e-mails. Maybe you people will read them to you like it. So then in the end, it's not as natural for you to be concerned about it. I wouldn't put this at the feet of our politicians to be sure. [14:14:09] I would put this at the feet of our media organizations and the news organizations that are not covering the nature of our economic transformation in a real way. Where do you turn on cable news? Why? Why did they say Donald Trump won Russia races? Facebook, e-mails, FBI? They don't talk about the fact that we lost our way. It's four million manufacturing jobs. Forty thousand right here in Iowa. That's what you said in my mind. Trump won the state by 18 points, that when you get rid of the jobs, then people started becoming angrier. [14:14:46] They don't talk about the fact that if I don't get to a point where it's driving our trucks and cars for us, then that will reduce the most common job in twenty nine states. There are three and a half million truck drivers. United States, 94 percent of men averaging forty nine. One thing that most of us do not understand is that A.I. and this technological revolution are about to impact women more than men. Because what happened was it started out manufacturing, which is a two thirds male field. And I just talked about trucking, which is 94 percent male. So you think it's getting rid of jobs for many, many high school educated men, which it hasn't. [14:15:26] But it's about to start ripping through administrative and office environments to a very, very high degree. And 60 percent of those environment, those workers are women. It's about to close 30 percent of America's stores and malls. And while retail jobs are not quality, it's the most common job in the country. And 60 percent of retail workers are women. So this is not an awesome them. This is not a man woman thing. This is an everyone thing. And I've now been running for president for a couple of years. And I'm convinced that D.C. would never have actually risen to this challenge because it's not in their interest to do so. [14:16:06] There is no one in D.C. who gets paid more based upon highlighting artificial intelligence is a threat to our economy and way of life. There are actually people who get paid more if we don't talk about it. Puzzling. One of the things I've said is that at this point, the feedback mechanism between D.C. and us is broken. They succeed whether we succeed or fail. That is the brutal truth. That is one reason why Donald Trump won. That people are waking up to that reality. We have to change that. And we have to change that as quickly as possible before the air leaves the lab and starts tearing apart. Jobs and earnest. [14:16:46] I'm friendly with some of the most. Advanced technologies in our country. The more you know, the more they know, the more concerned they are. I have never had this conversation. I've been in the lab. I've been to the cutting edge. I know we're developing and everything's going to be fine. [14:17:07] That's not the end of that goal. [14:17:12] So we have to come together and say this is not a red, blue problem. This is a human problem and we need human solutions. And those human solutions are going to come right here at. [14:17:34] Andrew, thanks for being here with us today. My question as a financial adviser is how are we going to pay for this? That's a great question. I am the math guy. [14:17:51] Amazon is closing 30 percent of our stores in malls and absorbing 20 billion dollars of business a year. How much did Amazon pay federal taxes last year? Euro Zero. They have a trillion dollar market cap. Jeff Bezos is worth one hundred nine billion dollars. Boards and they're paying zero in federal taxes. So the first thing you do when you say how are going to pay for this is you're saying, wait. How does it make sense that Amazon is paying your taxes? I would say it does not make sense. And it's going to be up to the folks here in Iowa to say it does not make sense. [14:18:22] We want to change that. And then if we get us our tiny fair share of every Amazon sale and we Google search, every Facebook and eventually every robot turned violent, a work unit, you get a sliver of that, you generate hundreds of billions in new revenue very, very quickly. And because you're a financial adviser, you're probably familiar with this value of tax that other countries have adopted to make sure that the Amazons of the world don't pay zero taxes. So you look around Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, all have this because they figured out it's escape proof mechanism to get us those resources. [14:18:59] So then you get that mechanism in place. We can put a thousand bucks in our hands very quickly because that, you know, this is a financial advisor to you put a thousand dollars in the hands of everyone, the community, the money that's going to go right back into the community. But the trickle up economy create more economic activity, more jobs, more businesses. We actually get back a chunk of that value, then we get it back another chunk because we're gonna spend less on things like incarceration and homelessness services and emergency room health care that we spend a trillion bucks out. And then the last part that's really joyous. One study said that if you were to alleviate gross poverty in this country, we would increase our GDP by 700 million a year just on the basis of better health and education outcomes. [14:19:41] Think about that. [14:19:42] None of this takes into account the fact that you'd have increased levels of enterprise and creativity and risk taking because people would feel like if they went out there and took a risk. I was with a literal rock star and he said that you have another Beatles every year in a society where you had freedom dividend because there may be many more people trying to be creative. And so you can imagine outsized business success coming up that you can't project yet and none of that's baked into the numbers. So anyway, that's how you pay for. The first thing is you get our fair share from the Amazons of the world so that we can all participate in the games of the 21st century. [14:20:18] Economy loses that ability. Isn't the fact that we're making that camera people's dollars? [14:20:29] Now we have one more question the other way, because I think. [14:20:39] Right. [14:20:39] So we've spoken about health care a little bit, and it's quite serendipitous that you use the word Amazons in the world is somewhat. [14:20:51] A veteran natural environment has been out for five years already, and first few years would be the most rough experience of my life. And you're talking about some psychotic schizophrenic drugs and the V.A. solution. [14:21:08] And their wise wisdom was to put me on two different antidepressants animates at the same time. [14:21:14] Now, instead of it actually getting better in me, understanding the root of the anger and the reactivity and. It just made me numb to everything. It didn't allow me to be angry, but it didn't allow me to be happy. [14:21:28] And so I'm came to the Amazon. I decided after a week, which they told me to take it for a month before you see any real results, which is beyond absurd, beyond absurd to anybody educated. I feel that that's absurd. But it's also a lesson about chemistry that a lot about. But getting it to us, I stopped taking those drugs and continued to do research because I don't need to do something because I wanted to stay here and to be able to to experience the family life. And I would not be here right now if it wasn't for psilocybin Cubans as mushrooms and ayahuasca. And that's 100 percent. T. [14:22:02] Hanks. No, I would not be here. I would not. I would. I didn't cry for four years straight before I took psilocybin machines for the first time. I cried for four hours straight. And then while this gentleman sharing the story, I could probably choke up because of studies. I understand. I feel that. And so. My question is, you know, in indigenous cultures, they have shamans and it seems like a natural proclivity towards the human experience to to have these people. The closest we have a psychiatrist to mechanical and when they're warriors or people that experience, if you're trying to get back to the tribes, they they experience at least six months shy of his re reintegrating into society and teaching them how to be humans. [14:22:45] And so what? You know, how how do we get these clinical studies to. Obviously, they're going at their own pace. They're doing the due diligence. It's been around for so long and so many people like the Beatles that we know that we know of it. Is it back to them in tremendous ways? [14:23:04] First, thank you for saying things through a circus. Not. [14:23:09] Applause. [14:23:16] You are not the first person who has told me about the fact that someone's life in mushrooms have enhanced their way of life and their well-being. Yesterday, I heard very passionately from someone who argued that CBD oil never met military men said that saved his life. I'm for the total legalization of marijuana and cannabis. It shouldn't be the. Federal controlled substance list and I'm very open to legalizing psilocybin mushrooms as well. The fact is right now it's the most lethal drug in America. Opiates like it's all of these prescription opiates that are killing Americans and our end and that was quote unquote legal because Purdue Pharma profited to the tune of 30 billion dollars on the backs of our communities and our families. [14:24:11] And we find them. Six hundred thirty five million dollars. Sounds like a lot to realize that only 2 percent of 30 billion. And that family is one of the richest families in the country today. So in the context of that and you look at drugs like marijuana and mushrooms and we say, wait a minute, what do you think? These drugs are not anywhere near as lethal? Are they not as crucially addictive? So why are we criminalizing one thing and profiteering and essentially destroying lives on the other? So I'm I love the reason why a smile was. I love the fact that. Native population tenants spend six months without a shot when they did make me reflect like, who is the shadow in American life today? [14:25:00] Like in American life today, you describe psychiatrist as being overly mechanical. And I couldn't agree more. I think that our medical industrial complex is too mechanical. I think unfortunately it's going to be our educators. I think our educational system is becoming unduly mechanical. I would lighten up on the as a tease and the timbres test and the rest of it. You know, we devised the S.A.T. during World War 2 as a way to identify which kids not to send to the front lines. And then now we just decided to bludgeon our kids with it every year, like every year more time. So we need to try to humanize our economy to the extent possible and humanize solutions that work for people when they come home. [14:25:42] If you were to show up to the V.A. and you have this whole range of things, instead of saying, hey, take these two depressants and antipsychotic and then wait for four months for it to numb you or, you know, I would love it if they said, hey, how about that? Or we could send you to this six month reverse boot camp with our modern day equivalent of a shaman who's been in in service and came back and now makes a living helping make veterans stronger. And guess what? [14:26:08] You can take mushrooms as part of let's say it's not like that would be the kind of thing I would love to sponsor. Had the V.A. as a pilot, I say because popular and the efficacy rate would be higher. [14:26:23] And then you feel like it's data driven. [14:26:25] Turns out the modern day shaman is more effective than I psychotics and that the drug companies would be like, but wait a minute, we get paid less. And I'd be like, that is the point. Get lost. [14:26:37] So thank you for sharing. Thank you for your service. And I believe this is your opinion. There is a right. Yes. A beautiful family. Alex. [14:26:52] I think we have some time to take selfies and will people individually. I just want to thank you all for being here today night for the incredible questions. This is a much more enjoyable event than any of the other ones. [14:27:03] What's more human? So thank you. Thank you for driving for hours to be here. And don't let the V.A. get a round of applause. My wife. [14:27:19] Right now, everyone, and we're going to do a selfie one on this wall. If you line up single file on this wall, that would be awesome.