Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is running a campaign that centers on the effects of automation on the current economy, its connection to the election of President Donald Trump, and his proposed solution: a universal basic income (UBI), or "Freedom Dividend," of $1,000 a month for every American citizen over the age of 18.
A recent poll by Echelon Insights examined support for Yang's UBI, as well as other Big Tech political issues, such as Elizabeth Warren's proposed breakup of large technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
The survey uses Echelon Insights' verified voter omnibus from a representative sample of 1,000 registered voters — in this case, 1,006 to be exact — to gain political insights.
As posted by UBI advocate and Yang supporter Scott Santens on Twitter, the data reveals that among the sample of individuals polled, Yang's UBI has 40 percent support and 43 percent opposition. In the case of this poll, support is defined as an answer of "strongly/somewhat favor" and opposition a response of "strongly/somewhat oppose."
But digging deeper reveals that much of the support for Yang's UBI comes from younger, Democratic voters that make the least amount of money. As age increases with wealth, and political affiliation moving to the right, support for Yang's UBI declines.
When it comes to political affiliation, Democrats showed 53 percent support and 26 percent opposition for UBI, while Independents and Republicans were unsupportive overall. But Independents were much less strongly opposed, with 40 percent supporting it and 44 percent opposing it, compared to Republicans' 22 percent support and 67 percent opposition.
