Ban the Wicked

As I was driving to see Wicked the musical, I passed a car that said, "Ban idiots, not guns." And it got me thinking, I get what the person is probably saying. Except that many people who commit gun crimes in America are actually not idiots necessarily, some of them have very high IQs and are very smart, but angry. Now, he might have been talking about the people who leave their guns accessible to children, who bring them to schools. Things like that that would be idiotic, I would agree, let's ban those people. And yes, people should be more responsible with their guns. But I've been thinking a lot about the root of crime lately. Specifically, that I don't think most criminals are inherently evil; they're not committing crimes just for the sake of doing bad. I believe most criminals are probably acting out of desperation. They have a problem that they can't figure out how to solve the "right way" and the systems that we've created around them make it difficult for them to improve their situation, and so they resort to crime in order to resolve those issues. It doesn't make the crime "right;" I'm not condoning it. And obviously people are complex, and there will be some people who do have Machiavellian tendencies that are maybe lumped under the category of evil. But most people, I suspect, aren't motivated to do wrong because of a pure internal desire to hurt and destroy. 

I recently watched a 2015 documentary called, "Where to Invade Next." It was interesting! Michael Moore was traveling around Europe "taking" best practices and policies that are, honestly, pretty novel, and in some cases, rather shocking to the American mindset. I think of myself as a pretty open minded person and even I struggled with the subversion of the prison system and other concepts. Specifically, in Norway where, the people who are "locked up" for crimes have a key to their homes. It's not a cell. It's more like a neighborhood to play house in and be rehabilitated. They're allowed to have sharp knives in their kitchens to cook fresh meals. They are allowed a lot of freedom to pursue various activities. The country's prison guards treat their prisoners very well and it's more of a rehab and a place to learn, "Hey, here's how to be a good neighbor" rather than treating them like lesser than humans. And the question is, does it work? And in Norway, it does. They have less repeat offenders and they have less crime overall. So somehow the threat of having to go into a more comfortable prison system allows that country to keep their crime rates at bay. They also allow their ex-convicts to vote, which is something that we don't do in America. And that's kind of stripping the human rights, making them lesser humans in some ways. And maybe that reduces the anger for would-be repeat criminals: the culture and the politics which American ex-convicts see, specifically, difficulties in finding a job and not letting them have voting rights, is kind of reinforcing that the only thing that they can do is act out on it and commit crimes to make their voice heard and get what they need. 

Anyways, back to the main crux of my topic today. I wonder if the thought about implementing universal basic income, UBI - lifting people up using automation, using AI - is the path forward, instead of allowing people to have increasingly more menial jobs or no jobs. If we can finally use technology to make our lives happier, healthier, easier, I think there would be less crime. I don't profess that I know the answer; I don't know how to make that happen exactly. But I think what we're doing with the justice system and gun laws and the like may be attacking the wrong problem. We really need to be looking at why these people are involved in crime to begin with. What's the root cause of why they are resorting to a crime?

And I wonder if the Norway prison system would work here. And truthfully I don't think it would. I don't think we could copy it over and we instantly start getting less repeat offenders. Send our criminals to neighborly rehab and we lower crime - I don't think that's going to work in America, not by itself. So then I started thinking about why does it work in Norway and why wouldn't it be able to work here in the US. And I think the answer is, you have to look at the people of Norway or the Nordic culture more broadly. They are content in a very cold environment. The Danish have what they call Hygge which is when it's so cold outside that you just kind of bundle up and have a cozy time inside with your family and friends. Norway has a form of this called koselig. That's a form of being content in a cold climate. Living in, maybe what some might consider a miserable situation, and I don't think Americans do enough of that. I think we are raised to want more. We are raised to expect more. We are raised to challenge the norms. 

And I think that's it's a love / hate kind of thing, right? It's a two-sided sword. We're brilliant in America: Hollywood and pop culture / pop music, inventions, creativity, innovation. We brought the internet to the world. We have all these things, and I think it's because of that audacity, so it's kind of like you have to pick your poison, because the Scandinavians aren't rolling out a ton of innovations everyday. They're contentedness maybe doesn't create the same kind of drive; it doesn't fuel that spark for creativity that comes from the audacity to be discontented. So we have to ask ourselves, is this the America that we want? Though it's the America that's audacious and not satisfied with the status quo that's what's gotten us here. That's the super power of America - it makes us creative and innovative, but unhappy with the cozy mundane. Is that the America that we want in the future? Those criminals aren't necessarily innovators; they're not productively generating GDP for the country or anything like that, but they are being audacious and challenging the norms (/laws) in their own ways, right? 

So I think that's why the Norway prison system wouldn't work here, because the Norway system is built on the foundation of contentedness. So they can say, "You know man, you really messed up. We're going to take away your koselig. We're going to take away your ability to be content at home with family, and we're going to teach you how to be a better, more appreciative person in a different environment." Whereas Americans are not taught to be content to start with or expected to settle for staying indoors when it's too cold to go out. If we tried to implement the Norwegian prison system, the criminals or would-be criminals would say, "Oh yeah, cheating the system man, this is this is golden. I should commit crimes more often!" So our way of punishing instead of lifting criminals up is our reaction to people that stepped too far out of line. They were taught to be audacious but they were TOO audacious - they didn't follow the laws that we set down and that's not okay. And I think that's why we have such a big military, right? We have a huge military industrial complex and a full complement of military services. We're audacious, but you better not be more audacious than us or go against our beliefs, because we got this huge military. It's like we're policing and imprisoning the world, or at least any group that is too audacious and out of line as defined by our standards. We have to have a big military because we believe that we're right and if anybody dares to think otherwise we need to punish them. So US prisons are a microcosm of our military positioning within the world. Really, if you think about it that way, like we don't care if we're committing crimes against nations if we believe they've wronged us is the same as we don't mind locking up criminals. 

So what do we do differently? And again, this is where I do not have all the answers. There's probably research that a lot of thoughts you know that I'm missing on here, but I think we really need to be focusing our attention, not on the punishment of the crime but on the root cause of the desperation. And again, there's going to be a subset of people that are just going to choose to hurt just for the sake of hurting or they're choosing to hurt because it makes them happier. But the vast majority of criminals, I think, are acting out because they're angry. They're desperate. They're not finding their way in life. They're not doing well in life, and so they're acting in a way that they think will get them what they want. If we want to address that, it's not about gun regulation. It's not about stricter punishments or even about our prison system and making it a happier place. I think it's about making our society more aligned with how we can help the people that are at the bottom, or at the most desperate places and I think it's about how we need to align on common goals and values. I know that's tough because we have a freedom of religion and a lot of diverse people that live here in the US and that's part of the goodness in some sense. But on the other hand, we don't have the common value of koselig like the Norwegians and we can't operate from a place of, "Well, I have different values than you so therefore I can choose to break the law." We have to find some way to get behind one set of values and laws, and make the laws align with the values and then enable people to be able to live those ways.

The irony of having these thoughts right now as I'm on my way to see the musical, Wicked, is that Wicked, is at its core, about a "criminal" who was misunderstood. And on that note, "Ahhh AHHH AHHH ahhhhh!"

Death in Texas: Thoughts While Driving to Tyler

Why am I driving in Tyler, Texas today? It's a long story. But it's something I felt like I needed to do today. On my way though, I've seen such an interesting juxtaposition of Texas. As I rounded just the very first clover entrance to the freeway, I noticed two cop cars with their lights on that were parked and I may have rubber necked just a touch trying to figure out what they were there for. I looked down into the middle of the clover and saw that there was an overturned car down there, so I guess now we know. Later, as I was driving past a cemetery, I happened to glimpse a casket in the process of being towed and lowered into a grave. I stopped at a gas station to fuel up and to get a snack, and there were four Las Vegas style slot machine arcade games. A gentleman was sitting at one of the games; he looked like he had kind of given up on life, or maybe was really hopeful that this would change his life. Texas just feels so depressing sometimes. And it makes me wonder what we're even doing on this Earth with our lives. 

One of the billboards I saw repeated a few times was a Christian billboard with children's wooden alphabet blocks showing A-B-C, and it was something like A: admit your sins and B: believe in Christ and C: something else. I don't know, whatever, but it's just so funny to me to think of Christians thinking that that's a good idea. They're so in their own belief system that they don't understand that that doesn't resonate with non-Christians. If you're a believer, you might think that's such a clever idea to spread the message on billboards - brilliant! But if you're not a believer, that simple ABC thing is actually demeaning or just stupid and laughable. It prompted me to later look up if there were statistics on people converting to Christianity as a result of a billboard speaking to them. I found that, of course, there is a low conversation rate, but more interesting or maybe appalling is that the Christians funding it don't actually seek to convert - the messaging is more about reconfirming their own beliefs for their club of believers, presumably providing comfort in moments of need or doubt. So they're literally admitting that not only is the tactic ineffective to actually spreading the message but that they put them up so they can feel good about the echo chamber they create. It's almost like they're buying faith. 

There's so much information overload in the world and I I wonder if that makes us believe whatever we want to believe because we can't believe everything we read. So instead of being discerning readers, skilled in applying the scientific principles, we're merely choosing to read the stuff and believe the stuff that resonates with our own beliefs. Instead of a healthy skepticism, we outright reject anything that doesn't reinforce our chosen beliefs. Road rage largely comes from everybody thinking they're right, and that other driver is an idiot. They've been wronged, regardless of what the other person is trying to do or doing or going through.

I do a lot of traveling out of DFW, and I've noticed the airport's water bottle refill stations are almost always red for the filter needing to be replaced. I tried the water once from a filter in that status and it was terrible. This is not a problem at any other airport I frequent. Isn't it just so Texas to reject the maintenance of water filters to save on plastic bottles? Like, that shouldn't be a political thing but, yet, it somehow makes sense. Republicans don't believe in global warming or environmental sustainability, so therefore water is bad at DFW airport. Water! The stuff of life! Are ya'll okay? (She said ironically, because she refuses to adopt the local contraction in earnest.) 

And so we've come full circle: death, salvation, echo chambers, and the stuff of life, the lack of which is death. Texas!  

Then to Now: Never Alone

Every life has its own 'viewfinder'—a set of early scenes that play on a loop in the back of our minds. This series, Then to Now, is my personal archive of my own core memories. By documenting these childhood stories, I’m looking for the threads that shaped my perspective, explored through the lens of the present. One memory at a time, I’m tracing the line from these foundational flickers to how they still develop in the person I am today.

The exact setting or event is vague to me - it must have been a high school band trip I think - or junior high? Maybe a choir thing? I don't know, the cast of characters were all pretty similar in my life through all the musical pursuits I filled my life with in lieu of performing well academically. 

I think my "boyfriend" Brian had just broken up with me, after I learned he had "cheated" on me by kissing another girl. It was all very dramatic and I was devastated as a young, awkward, love-struck dummy would be. Back then, I think I had some mental and emotional issues that were quite repressed, and my social anxiety had not yet bubbled up to my awareness. I wouldn't say I was clinically depressed because, as I understand it, people with depression don't have such logical views of their dark thoughts as I did - I contemplated suicide but was easily able to dismiss it as illogical for resolving my issues and something that seemed like all too much effort to bother with. 

Anyways, the scene that formed a "core memory" and a promise that I'd perpetually keep to myself started in the girl's bathroom, with me in tears. I remember feeling so very alone, and it was that utter loneliness that really brought me down. It wasn't the break up, it was the crushing loneliness. Maybe more precisely, the unworthiness of others' attention. 

Where were my friends? Who were my friends then? I can't even recall. But two girls whom I barely knew ended up being the ones comforting me. One was named Suzanne, I'm pretty sure, and she was the one who had kissed my now "ex." She should have been my mortal enemy or whatever, but I suppose I've never been one to blame the person someone cheats with, it's the cheater that's the problem, always, in my book. I'm not sure though if she felt guilt about the situation and that's why she was comforting me, or if she was just genuinely a nice person who happened to see me in my emotional breakdown. Either way, her and her friend put their arms around me and said nice things to me, even joking about how Brian was a crappy boyfriend anyways, who needs him? I've always found humor is incredibly helpful when I'm terribly sad, and this time was no exception. 

The two girls, whom I was barely acquainted with, comforted me and helped me work through all the emotions. And though I had started by feeling lonely, and they weren't the closest of friends, a realization dawned on me in that moment that even when we think we're alone, there is always someone who can be there for us. 

I silently made a promise to myself that I would never forget that lesson. And while the details have become fuzzy over the years, I've recalled that lesson time and time again when I felt alone. "You are never alone," I would assure myself. And that reminder would be enough to push myself from catastrophizing to thinking about who I could reach out to. And invariably, the people to whom I've reached out have always come through in one way or another, reinforcing that I was right. 

I know my brain works in a way that allows me to keep this promise, and I don't take that for granted. But as I look back from now, I realize that keeping the promise to myself wasn't the end of the lesson. The real work is being the Suzanne in someone else's moment of need—the unexpected person who shows up just in time to prove wrong the lies we all tell ourselves sometimes.

Awe: Unscreened

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle for its lush greenery, and the name is well deserved at that. But the feature that has continually impressed me the most is the scale and angles of the mountains that rise from the middle of the island. Any view from any angle is an awe-inspiring moment which cannot adequately be captured on photos. I still try, of course, on an ongoing basis. But this beauty cannot be captured on a screen. It needs to be felt and seen with no filters, or at least through a car (or helicopter) window and nothing else.

It's the same feeling I've felt often when hiking around Yosemite, and once as I drove to a peak near Big Bend. The monolithic heights, and sheer drop of the cliffs, have to be seen to be understood and appreciated fully.

It made me wonder if the meta augmented reality world promised in sci-fi that feels to be nearing nonfiction could ever, even with significant advances in technology, provide the same feeling, and inspire the same awe, as the real thing. I love technologies and futurism, but of accomplishing this feat, I am skeptical.

To the contrary, I believe the more plugged in to a technologically easier, comfortable, and productive life we are, the greater the need will be to travel to places like this and feel the wonder irl. When so much is possible through CGI and generative AI, the wonder is necessarily lessened as we are desensitized and trained to be skeptical of the images. Only when you are certain you can believe your eyes and behold the beauty of nature in its unedited, imperfect and organically generated form, and you feel those feels.

Perhaps the worst part is that our needs for these genuine, screenless experiences rise, so will the devastation of the natural beauty in service of our comfort, unsustainable consumption of resources and AI power needs, etc. Putting aside morality, it would be a simple logical tradeoff if we could simply replace the fading beauty with equally mesmerizing experiences, but I just don't think we can. 

There is a profound comfort in standing before something that wasn't built for me, wasn't designed for a user experience, and doesn't care if I’m looking. That indifference is exactly what makes it real. If we lose the sheer, terrifying scale of a cliffside to power the servers that mimic it, we haven't just lost a landscape—we’ve lost the ability to feel the very awe
we were trying to digitize.

Perhaps the future isn't about choosing between the digital and the natural, but about treating these real-world vistas as sacred sites of sensory truth. Protecting these places is a form of protecting our own humanity.

 

Touch Water

The kids these days say they need to "touch grass" which is a new fangled way of saying what ancient people knew - that there is something special, even magical, about getting into nature and experiencing the beauty of plants and animals and landscapes.

I'm deathly allergic to many plants, and especially grass, so touch grass doesn't resonate with me. But when I see an ocean, I can't wait to get my feet into it. I love swimming and snorkeling, too, and boating and cruising, but even if I am without a swimsuit, I am lured to the waters edge to get my feet in, at least. That's my version of touch grass. 

Unfortunately there's not a lot of ocean in Texas, and zero near Fort Worth. So escaping to Hawaii is always a desire, despite the long flight and expense (and I tend to make the latter worse to ease the former vis-a-vis upgrading to first class for the trip). 

I arrived last night on an island new to me - Kauai. It had been my goal to get here ever since I learned I could take a helicopter tour to the waterfalls in Jurassic Park, and I booked the trip while on my solo writing and research trip on Astoria, Oregon, as a way to keep the independent sovereign vibes going. Work has been incredibly busy and stressful on a more personal level - dealing with personnel issues and BS office politics,my least favorite hassles, and this trip couldn't come soon enough. Disconnecting and decompressing is often a struggle for me, and it is especially true today. The trip here was longer than it needed to be due to delays, and it honestly wore me out, although I did manage to read in entirety two books by Andrew Yang! 

After stopping at Target near the airport and then making the trek to the hotel that took close to an hour, during which my energy hit a wall, I crashed hard in bed last night. This morning, I woke up with the threat of a migraine, and the Sunday brunch at the hotel restaurant sounded like exactly what I needed to recharge. I don't usually eat a big breakfast but since I hadn't eaten in several hours before bed last night, I was famished. 

 

While getting ready, I caught a glimpse out my window of two Nene's waddling across my patio. I grabbed my phone and rushed to the door to take a few photos of these rare, endangered birds found only here in Hawaii. A tuxedo cat also graced my patio. Turns out, I needn't have hurried because the Nene's population has apparently made a strong comeback due to the protections put in place for them and they were all over the hotel property! As I ate breakfast on the lanai, several nenes were hanging out by the pool and a mama chicken and her little chicks were wandering around the lanai hunting for charity from the guests. A red-headed cardinal daringly landed on my table and would have eaten right off my plate had I not shooed him away just inches before he got it. He snagged some eggs from the guest at the table next to me, which attracted a flutter of birds. Meanwhile, I watched with amusement as a staff member took a couple pictures of the crowd of Nenes bathing in the pool before attempting to shepherd them away. He got a bunch of them through the beach loungers, towards the open grassy field, before they darted around the chairs and escaped back towards the pool. He quickly turned around and met them on the other side, trying to get between them and the pool, but one by one, they bravely ran past him and he had to start all over again. 

As I paid my bill, I noticed it was time for the feeding at the koi pond, so I found a cozy spot on a beach lounger overlooking the pond and watched as the kids fed the fish for a few minutes. I walked around the hotel property and tried to make it to the beach proclaimed by the "public beach access" but it looked like a muddy mess and I wasn't convinced it would be worth it. So I got in my car, put the top down (at risk, with the overcast sky) and went for a drive. 

On my way to a lookout, I clocked many Nene crossing signs, both formal and improvised, and had the perfect view of five or six flying just above the road. A short distance later there were a huge group of them on the side of the road. 

The lookout was pretty but a bit crowded. I drove down the road in search of a beach but the connection here is bad an I ended in a cul-de-sac so I decided to stop and take in the nature. As I am parked writing this, a fully red cardinal landed on my mirror for a split second before being startled likely by my head movement to look at it. What a cutie, though! I also heard, among the cock-a-doodle-doo's of the chickens and the squeaky songs of some other birds, and knocking sound perhaps of a woodpecker, but it only went off a few times before I stopped hearing it. It's raining now, and that is bringing down my spirits a bit, but I wanted to jot down some thoughts of the special moments and the joy I have in seeing these animals and the beauty of the flowers, so many seem absolutely perfect. I think that's what I need is just nature's perfect and hilarious unexpected wild animals. Enjoying and appreciating them is a special treat, and one I desperately needed. 

I find it funny that so many of my Life List items - which should generally be something of a once in a lifetime event - have turned into a normal, frequent thing. The most predominant example that comes to mind is seeing a show on Broadway. My sister and I saw Wicked when we were in NYC for a wedding. Check! I assumed that was pretty much done. It was awesome! And I'm so grateful we got to do that. Then my boyfriend at the time, Rick, and I planned a trip to NYC. As a gift to me, he wanted to get me tickets to a musical but because he's not really into musicals, he chose the one he felt was most approachable - Wicked. So I saw it on Broadway again. I definitely didn't mind! Later in life, while I was dating Jaiman, we made the tough decision to move to Connecticut with my job. The biggest benefit of living there was the proximity to NYC, and especially Broadway, and we made the most of it. In the year we lived there, we went to more than 10 Broadway shows, including Hamilton (twice), and a handful of off-Broadway hits as well (Spamilton s hilarious!). Moving away didn't end our Broadway attendance. Shortly after we moved, I learned that an alum of my high school whom I vaguely knew was preforming in Chicago! I figured I'd have to go see him sometime. Then COVID happened and I followed his story on social media about how, with the theaters closed, he moved back in with his parents. I bought cookies from him. When Broadway reopened post-pandemic, I wasn't going to procrastinate. He shared dates he'd be performing and I booked a trip. Never mind that it was in January, arguably the worst time to venture to NYC, we were going! We made it in just before a snow storm, and upon landing learned our departing flight was cancelled and we had to rebook for later. Ah well, guess we'll add another show to our trip! We used the opportunity to go to Hadestown. So a once in a lifetime Life List things had been done in spades. 

I'm drawing that parallel to this trip, because another life list thing was too photograph an endangered species. As we were hiking Haleakala on Maui a few years ago, my nephew, David, and I spotted the endangered Nene. Our photos were blurry but it was definitely then! Check! Now to be on this island and see so many Nenes and take literally dozens of pictures of different ones - it's almost ordinary if I didn't know how extraordinary it actually is. 

Let me never take from granted this extraordinary life, and let me perpetually grateful for this extraordinary world. 

Oh, and I did finally touch water.

Unpaid Work

Between a demanding full-time job, taking classes, and a schedule packed with dance classes and travel, my "free" time is a precious commodity. As a woman living alone, there is a very specific kind of mental load that comes with maintaining a home. You look at a garage that needs a good sweep or a bin of tangled Christmas lights and you have to prioritize; you simply don’t have the physical bandwidth—or the desire—to spend your Saturday on a ladder in the fickle Texas weather among the bugs.

In a perfect world, I’d pay the kid down the street $40 to knock it out in an hour. It’s a win-win: I get a functional garage and a free afternoon for dance, and they get some extra spending money. But in 2026, I don't even know where to start.

In his latest book, Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks?, Andrew Yang revisits an idea he’s championed before: Social Credits (or Time Banking). It’s a system where you trade an hour of your time for a "credit" you can spend on someone else’s hour.

Yang isn’t the only one who has thought this way. He draws a parallel to Edgar Cahn's core philosophy was built on Co-Production. He argued that the professional economy (doctors, lawyers, teachers) is only the tip of the iceberg. The "non-market" economy—the work of being a neighbor, a parent, and a citizen—is what actually keeps society afloat.

Cahn’s solution was the Time Dollar: a currency where one hour always equals one hour, regardless of whether you’re providing legal advice or weeding a garden. While the intent is noble, it misses a fundamental truth about how we actually live.

The Friction of the "Time Bank"

The problem with a separate social currency, as Cahn proposed and Yang echoes, is that it creates a double valuation headache. When you're already juggling a professional consulting career and a personal life, the last thing you want is a second "checkbook" to balance. If the "bank" doesn't have exactly what you need (like a plumber when your sink is geysering), those credits sit idle. Money was invented to solve this exact "coincidence of wants" problem.

As an optimistic futurist, I believe the solution isn't a new currency; it’s a better architecture to utilize the currency we already have.

The Rover Blueprint: Normalizing Neighbor Labor

We already have a successful model for this: Dog walking apps. Platforms like Rover succeeded because they "normalized" non-professionals. You aren't hiring a massive kennel facility; you’re hiring a neighbor who likes dogs. This model provides exactly what a "Time Bank" seeks—community trust and lower costs—but it keeps the efficiency of the dollar. We should be using this for *everything*.

The GrowUnity Lesson: Lowering the Barrier

Years ago, I worked on a project called GrowUnity. The platform grew out of the idea of solving to complementary demands. It would connect neighbors who had a surplus of fruit (and the rotting-pest-problem that comes with it) with neighbors who wanted to pick it for a small fee.

The idea won Startup Weekend because it solved a specific local inefficiency. Unfortunately, the team dissolved to pursue other career objectives. 

Today, we see iterations of this in apps like FruitNeighbor, but we haven't quite mastered the "micro-labor" side. Why can't I find a "Rover for Chores"?

If I need a pro, I use Thumbtack. But by the time a contractor pays their platform fees and insurance, they have to charge professional rates. You aren't getting a local kid to sweep your garage for $40 on Thumbtack.

Platform	Best For...	How it Works
FruitNeighbor	GrowUnity idea	Specifically for sharing excess backyard produce. It maps local "over-growers" and lets neighbors claim/pick fruit to reduce waste.
Falling Fruit	Urban Foraging	A massive, community-run map of public and private (shared) fruit trees and edibles.
Nextdoor "For Sale & Free"	General Neighbor Help	The "Bounty" section is often used for exactly what you described: "Will pay $50 for someone to help me put up lights."
Taskrabbit (Micro-Tasks)	The "Kid next door" substitute	While it’s become more professional, you can still filter for "General Labor" to find non-pros for simple tasks like garage sweeping.

Future Iterations: The "Protopian" Neighborhood

What we’re missing is a High-Traffic Localized Bidding Forum—a hyper-local eBay for neighborly help.

The Tasks: Hanging lights, sweeping the garage, or picking the oranges from the tree in the backyard.

The Bidding: Instead of fixed professional rates, neighbors bid on what the help is worth to them.

The Portability: If a kid has a 5-star rating for walking dogs, that trust should carry over to hanging my Christmas lights.

By 2028, we shouldn't need a complex social credit score or a "Time Dollar" to help each other out. The fix is using the tech stack of 2026—AI-driven routing and frictionless micro-payments—to let us trade with our neighbors as easily as we book a flight for our next trip.

If we lower the "bureaucracy of help," we don't just get cleaner garages. We get back our Saturdays for the things that actually move us.

Let's Do the MATH: Yang 2028

 "Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets."                                                 — W. Edwards Deming

If you look at our current political landscape and see chaos, division, and a complete inability to solve 21st-century problems, remember Deming’s words. Our system isn't "broken"—it’s performing exactly as it was designed to. It was built for a world of steam engines and the American Dream, not AGI and global competition and warfare.

If we want different results, we need to change the system. We need to move Forward. And that’s exactly why Andrew Yang needs to run for President in 2028, and why you should learn about him and his ideas, support him and vote for him. 

From Job Creator to Chief Futurist

Before he was the Presidential candidate with perhaps the most outrageous discrimination in the news outlets (more on that later), Andrew Yang was on the front lines of the American economy. Through his nonprofit, Venture for America, he spent years trying to spark entrepreneurship in cities like Detroit and Cleveland. But he saw a hard truth the data couldn't hide: you can’t "out-hustle" a robot.
He realized we aren't just in a rough patch; we are in the middle of the "Great Displacement." 

My journey into Yang's vision actually started with a bit of a "eureka" moment. I was deep into his second book, The War on Normal People, when it suddenly dawned on me: I had read this author before. Years earlier, I’d picked up a book called Smart People Should Build Things and loved its message about redirecting our country's best talent away from "paper-shuffling" on Wall Street and back into the real economy.

His library of authored books follows his journey from promoting entrepreneurship to promoting Universal Basic Income (UBI) and then reflecting on the problems in our political system that he witnessed first-hand:

Smart People Should Build Things (2014): The book that started it all. Yang argues that our country’s talent is being misallocated and that we need to reconnect our "human capital" with the actual building of businesses and solutions in the real world.

The War on Normal People (2018): The foundational text. Yang explains how automation is hollowing out the middle class and why "normal" jobs—trucking, retail, administrative work—are in the crosshairs of progress.

Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy (2021): This is the manual for the system reboot. He breaks down why the "duopoly" is incentivized to ignore us and how we can use Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) and Open Primaries to hack the system.

The Last Election (2023): A speculative thriller (co-written with Stephen Marche) about a constitutional collapse. It’s a sobering look at what happens if we don't update our political software.

Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks? (2026): His newest release—a witty, candid memoir of his journey from "random man" to political pioneer. It’s the perfect mix of "protopian" hope and hard-earned political reality.

The "Longshot" That Could: Andrew Yang runs for President (2020)

Andrew Yang’s 2020 run is one of the most fascinating examples of "hacking" the political system. When he filed to run in 2017, he was a complete unknown, but he gained massive traction by bypassing traditional gatekeepers and speaking directly to the internet. His 2019 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience was the spark, transforming him from a "fringe" candidate into the leader of the Yang Gang, a devoted, digital-native fanbase.

The Invisible Candidate: The Media Blackout

Despite his surging numbers and fundraising prowess, Yang faced a staggering "media blackout" that became a rallying cry for his supporters. Major networks like CNN and MSNBC frequently omitted him from candidate graphics, even when he was polling significantly higher than the candidates they included. In one famous instance, a network displayed a list of top candidates and included someone polling at 1% while leaving out Yang, who was at 3%. 

During the debates, he consistently received the least speaking time; in the November 2019 debate, he wasn't even called on for the first 30 minutes. An analysis by Business Insider later confirmed that Yang had the highest "deficit" of any candidate between his polling strength and his actual media coverage, suggesting the "perfectly designed system" was working overtime to keep his "different" ideas out of the mainstream conversation.

Beyond the media blackout, Andrew Yang’s 2020 run was plagued by a series of "glitches in the matrix" that felt less like bad luck and more like a system actively rejecting a foreign object. For an optimistic futurist, these are the ultimate examples of why the "plumbing" of our democracy needs a total overhaul.

The "Muted Mic" Incident

One of the most viral and frustrating moments of the 2020 primary occurred during the very first Democratic debate. Supporters noticed that while Yang was on stage, he was barely speaking. It wasn't just a lack of aggression; Yang later claimed that his microphone was actually turned off when he wasn't being directly addressed. While NBC denied any intentional technical issues, video clips circulated showing Yang trying to interject while his mouth moved but no sound came out. For a candidate who had fought so hard just to get on that stage, having his literal voice silenced was a massive blow to his momentum.

The Iowa Caucus "Coding Error"

If every system is designed for its output, the 2020 Iowa Caucus was designed for chaos. Yang had spent a massive amount of his campaign’s "human capital" on the ground in Iowa, hoping for a surprise breakout. Instead, the reporting app—built by a shadowy startup called Shadow Inc.—suffered a "coding error" that delayed results for days.
    • The Result: The "momentum" that candidates usually get from a strong showing in Iowa was completely neutralized. By the time the math was finally sorted out, the news cycle had already moved on to New Hampshire. For a "math-first" candidate, losing the ability to show his data-driven growth in real-time was a critical setback.

The "John Yang" and "Name Omissions"

The media blackout wasn't just about ignoring him; it was about the subtle ways they minimized his legitimacy.
    • The Wrong Name: At one point, NBC News displayed a graphic of Yang crowd-surfing but identified him as "John Yang." * The "Erasure" Graphics: On at least a dozen occasions, CNN and MSNBC aired graphics showing the "Top 6" or "Top 10" candidates. They would frequently include candidates polling at 1% while leaving Yang out, even when he was polling at 3% or 4%.

The Ohio "Bureaucratic Loophole"

Perhaps the most "systemic" surprise came from Ohio. Despite his supporters gathering three times the required signatures to get him on the ballot, he was disqualified due to an "awkwardly-worded law" regarding a technical paperwork issue (he didn't include a specific statement of candidacy on the signature headers). While other candidates had their paperwork accepted despite similar minor errors, the state's Secretary of State initially denied his access, forcing his team into a legal battle just to be an option for voters.

The AI Imperative

In 2020, Yang was often dismissed as a "doom-and-gloom" tech guy as he prophesied the AI-powered technological unemployment that could challenge work as we know it in ways that are fundamentally different than technological upheavals of the past. Now, with the explosion of generative AI and automation since 2023, his core warnings are no longer theoretical—they are daily headlines. This gives him "I told you so" credibility that few other politicians possess. 

With Generative AI disrupting everything from coding to Hollywood, the "work-to-survive" model is hitting a wall. The tech founders and gurus closest to the technologies are the ones who are speaking out the most about its dangers. For me personally, the more I learn and see the power of it, the more I convinced I am that these concerns are legitimate as well. It is not just a buzzword, it is powerful, which can be great for some, and devastating for many. 

Yang’s view is that technological unemployment is a success we weren't prepared for. UBI is the bridge that lets us transition to a future where we work because we want to, not because we’ll starve otherwise.

The Freedom Dividend: A Floor to Stand On

Yang’s core solution—Universal Basic Income (UBI)—is the ultimate system upgrade. By giving every American adult $1,000 a month, we provide a "Freedom Dividend" that recognizes our value as shareholders in the richest nation in history. Now, before you gawk at the incredulity of such a proposal and the math of how to support it, let me assure you, he lays this out in great detail in The War on Normal People in a logical way. Also, it’s not a radical new idea; it’s a classic one that almost made it:

The Proponents: From Thomas Paine to Martin Luther King Jr., thinkers have argued that a floor under every citizen is the only way to ensure true liberty.

The Nixon Near-Miss: In the early 1970s, Richard Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan passed the House twice. We were this close to having a basic income floor decades ago before it got caught in the gears of partisan Senate politics.

Since Yang's first run at the office, UBI has moved from a fringe idea to a mainstream debate. Dozens of cities across the U.S. have run guaranteed basic income pilots with positive data, making his signature policy feel much more "vetted" than it did eight years ago.

Interestingly, the terminology is shifting. You’ll often hear it called "Guaranteed Basic Income" (GBI) now rather than UBI. The distinction is that these city programs are usually "targeted" (given only to low-income residents) rather than "universal" (given to everyone regardless of wealth).

Major Cities & Recent Trials

While dozens of cities have dipped their toes in, a few major programs stand out for their scale and recent findings:

Cook County & Chicago, IL: This remains one of the largest and most significant programs. Following a massive $42 million pilot that gave $500 a month to over 3,000 residents from 2022 – Jan 2025, Cook County recently became the first in the nation to establish permanent funding for guaranteed income. The success here was measured in "prevention." By providing $500 a month to 3,250 households, the county argued it prevented thousands of evictions. Public safety experts noted that housing stability is one of the strongest predictors of lower neighborhood crime.

Austin, TX: Their pilot specifically looked at housing stability in gentrifying neighborhoods from 2022 – 2024. Results showed that participants spent over 50% of the cash on housing costs, significantly improving their housing security compared to low-income residents who didn't receive the funds. Researchers found that in the specific communities where the pilot was active, violent crime dropped by 44% during the experiment years. The logic was that the "floor" prevented the kind of high-stakes financial stress that leads to domestic violence and street-level robbery.

Denver, CO: A recent study of their program focused on the unhoused population, showing that the cash helped many move into stable housing and reduced emergency room visits. While Denver didn't report a massive drop in city-wide crime stats, they saw a 50% decrease in the use of emergency shelters and a doubling of people in stable housing. From a public safety perspective, this reduced the "public nuisance" calls and police interactions that often occur with unhoused populations. This squares with Yang's position that the concept essentially "pays for itself" through reduced public service costs, and provides real-world evidence. 

Boulder, CO & Compton, CA: These cities have focused on how frequency matters. Results from Compton suggested that getting smaller payments twice a month was more effective at reducing debt than getting a large lump sum once a quarter.

Many UBI trials across the country were heavily supported by federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Those federal dollars were designed as one-time "bridge" funding during the COVID-19 recovery. Once that money dried up in 2024 and 2025, the cities were forced to choose between using its own general funds (taxpayer dollars) or ending the programs. Without the federal safety net, the political will to keep the checks flowing evaporated.

While Austin was trying to keep its program alive, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was busy dismantling a similar program in Houston (Harris County). Paxton sued Harris County, arguing that "no-strings-attached" payments violate the Texas Constitution, which prohibits the "gratuitous" giving of public funds to individuals without a direct benefit to the state. The legal victory against Houston created a roadmap for state leaders to kill these programs. Austin’s leadership knew that even if they found the money, they would likely face a massive, expensive lawsuit from the state that they might not win.

This is exactly why Yang argues that UBI must be Federal. If it’s tied to the national VAT (Value Added Tax) and the federal budget, it can’t be picked apart by a local tax revolt or a state attorney general.

 

Introducing the Forward Party

Operating on the hypothesis that perhaps a Presidential bid was too big a start for someone who seemingly came out of nowhere, Andrew Yang set his sights on running for the mayor of New York City.  The irony of that race, as he’s mentioned on his blog and in interviews, is that many people who wanted to vote for his "protopian" vision couldn't because they weren't registered Democrats by the city's early deadline. That "math" is exactly why he now focuses so heavily on Open Primaries—he wants to make sure that the next time a candidate with big ideas runs, they aren't locked out by the "plumbing" of the system.

It was actually his experience in that race—specifically seeing how the closed primary system excluded many independent-minded voters—that served as a major catalyst for his decision to leave the party. He officially changed his registration to Independent in October 2021, shortly after the mayoral race ended, and launched the Forward Party immediately afterward.

The motto of the Forward Party (FWD) is "Not Left. Not Right. Forward." With the mission of "rebooting" American democracy from the ground up, they focus on the "plumbing" of democracy—Ranked-Choice Voting and Open Primaries—so that candidates like Yang can actually win without being "spoilers."  

As of early 2026, the party’s achievements have focused on building a "bottom-up" infrastructure rather than just top-ticket vanity runs:

    • Electoral Wins: The party has successfully elected several local officials and shifted representatives to their line. A major milestone occurred in Utah, where the party gained official status and currently holds a seat in the State Senate (via Sen. Emily Buss).

    • Ballot Access: Moving toward their goal of 50-state access by 2028, they have already secured official party status in several key states, including Colorado, Florida, Utah, and South Carolina, with active "Forward-Independence" affiliates in Minnesota.

    • Candidate Endorsements: In April 2026, the party unveiled its first slate of Congressional endorsements for the upcoming midterms, backing a mix of independents and reform-minded candidates who pledge to prioritize problem-solving over party loyalty.

    • Membership Growth: The party has built a massive digital footprint, claiming tens of thousands of members and a growing donor base that includes tech leaders and "disaffected" voters who represent the 36%–40% of Americans now identifying as Independent.
    
By focusing on local offices and the rules of the game, Forward is essentially "beta testing" a new version of American politics, preparing the terrain for a national breakthrough in the 2028 cycle.

 

The Path to the White House

The 2028 field is shaping up to be one of the most crowded and high-stakes races in decades, largely because both parties are facing a massive "identity crisis" regarding their future direction. If Yang ran again, he's not going to jump back into the Democratic popularity contest. He would run as an independent, and undoubtedly would proactively counteract those barriers he was surprised to uncover in his first Presidential run. 

To get him to the White House by 2028, we have to follow the math:

Yin and Yang: Two Ways to Win

To get Andrew Yang into the White House by 2028, the "math" doesn't require a traditional electoral strategy of getting to the clean 270-vote majority, which third-party candidates almost never win, his path could utilize a constitutional maneuver called a Contingent Election. Yang only needs enough electoral votes to ensure that neither the Republican nor the Democrat gets to 270. If he wins just a handful of states, the election is "thrown to the House."

Yang wouldn't just look at "Red vs. Blue." He would target states with three specific traits: Open Primaries, Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), and High Tech/Independent Populations.

Here is the breakdown of the electoral map he would need to "hack" the system.

 

State	EVs	Why it's in the Yang Column
Alaska	3	Uses RCV. He is highly popular with their independent, "off-grid" voting base.
Maine	4	Uses RCV. New England voters have a history of supporting pragmatic independents.
Utah	6	A "Forward Party" stronghold. The tech-heavy "Silicon Slopes" prefer his "problem-solver" vibe over partisan firebrands.
Colorado	10	A "protopian" hub. His focus on sustainability and AI resonates with the Denver/Boulder tech corridor.
Minnesota	10	His self-declared "launch state." High levels of civic engagement and a history of third-party success (e.g., Jesse Ventura).
TOTAL	33	This is enough to prevent a 270 majority for either side.

The Contingent Election

If the map above happens, the 12th Amendment of the Constitution kicks in. This is the most likely way a third-party candidate like Yang wins.
    • The House Decides: The House of Representatives chooses the President from the top three finishers.
    • The "One State, One Vote" Rule: This is the wildcard. Instead of 435 individual votes, each state gets exactly one vote. California gets 1 vote; Wyoming gets 1 vote.
    • The Strategy: Yang would position himself as the "Unity Candidate." If the country is deadlocked and polarized, he would bet on 26 state delegations choosing him as the "safe" compromise to avoid a civil standoff between the two major parties.

The 270 "Purple Surge"

Securing 270 electoral votes is the steepest climb in American politics for anyone outside the two-party system. As an Independent candidate, Yang cannot rely on the "automatic" base of voters that a Democrat or Republican enjoys. Yang's path to 270 is built on the premise that a significant portion of the electorate (which is currently over 40% Independent in some states) is ready to abandon both major parties. He would need to build a coalition of "Pragmatic Independents," "Disaffected Democrats," and "Future-Focused Republicans." 

To hit the majority of the electoral college votes, Yang would have to execute a "Core-to-Coast" strategy, flipping the script on how modern campaigns are won. To reach the majority, he would have to win several "High-Independent" states and then break into the "Blue Wall" or "Sun Belt."

Phase 1: The Politically Forward(-thinking) Strongholds (55 EVs)
He starts with states where the rules or culture favor third parties:
    • Alaska (3) & Maine (4): These states use Ranked-Choice Voting, which eliminates the "spoiler" fear and allows him to win on second-choice votes.
    • Utah (6): One of the Forward Party's strongest hubs. Its tech-savvy, pragmatic culture is a natural fit for "Human-Centered Capitalism."
    • Minnesota (10): Yang’s self-declared launch state. It has a high registration rate (over 80%) and a history of independent-minded voters.
    • Arizona (11) & Nevada (6): These states have seen independent registration soar to over 33% by 2026.
    • New Mexico (5): Just this week, Yang officially launched the NM Forward Party in Santa Fe. The state has a strong "independent minor party" tradition and a voter base that is increasingly exhausted by the border/energy gridlock.
    • Maryland (10): As of 2026, the Maryland Forward Party is one of the most active in the nation, already running a slate of 8+ candidates for state and local offices. The high-tech corridor between D.C. and Baltimore is "prime Yang territory."
 

Phase 2: The "Protopian" Tech Hubs (161 EVs)
He must flip states that value his focus on AI, sustainability, and the "Future of Work":
    • Colorado (10), Washington (12), & Oregon (8): These states have strong "experimental living" and tech-centric populations.
    • California (54): This is the "Big Boss" of the map. As a tech entrepreneur, Yang would need to leverage Silicon Valley support to flip the largest prize in the union. Without California, the math for an independent nearly evaporates.
    • New York (28): His home base. He must flip the "Blue" establishment by winning over the massive 25% independent bloc.
    • Georgia (16) & North Carolina (16): Booming tech sectors in Atlanta and the Research Triangle (NC) align with his futurist brand.
    • Virginia (13) & New Hampshire (4): Yang can appeal here to the highly educated, "data-hungry" electorates, with his math and well-thought-out detailed policy ideas. 
 

Phase 3: The Displaced Rust Belt (61 EVs)
This is where he wins the election by speaking directly to workers losing ground to AI. He must convince the Rust Belt that UBI is the only solution to the AI-driven job losses they are seeing in 2026–2028:
    • Michigan (15), Pennsylvania (19), Ohio (17), & Wisconsin (10): These states are the front lines of the automation crisis. If he can prove his "I told you so" credibility here, he takes the presidency.

 

The Timeline

To be a serious contender, the "money machine" has to start early to combat the massive war chests of the two major parties.

Pre-Launch (Now – Late 2026): Yang is currently in the "infrastructure phase." He doesn't need to fundraise for himself yet, but he is raising money for the Forward Party to secure ballot access in all 50 states—a process that costs millions. 

The "Exploratory" Phase (Early 2027): This is when he would likely file a Statement of Candidacy with the FEC. Legally, once he raises or spends more than $5,000, he must register.

The "Goldilocks" Start Date: Historically, serious independent candidates need to start their primary fundraising by Spring/Summer 2027 to ensure they have enough capital to hire staff for the grueling petition drives required in late 2027.

Fall 2027: Yang hits the 15% polling threshold to force his way onto the debate stage. Once the country sees the "Math" again, the surge begins. 

Election Day (Nov 7, 2028): He must win at least 2–3 states to ensure no one hits 270. 

The Contingent Vote (Jan 6, 2029): This is the day the House would officially vote to make him President.

Main Party Candidates Getting On Board

It's worth mentioning that there is a "New Guard" taking inspiration from Yang. They aren't just copying his notes; they are taking his "protopian" theories and attempting to bake them into actual government policy at the state and federal levels.

By early 2026, these figures have moved past the "fringe" label and are positioning themselves as the "competent futurists" of the 2028 cycle. Here is the breakdown of the major players, their platforms, and their viability. 

 

Josh Shapiro (Governor, PA)

The Platform: Shapiro is the "Speed of Business" Democrat. While Yang talked about the coming automation crisis, Shapiro is trying to "capture" the AI boom to save Pennsylvania’s economy.

The "Shapiro Standard": He signed a nation-leading executive order for safe AI adoption in state government and partnered with OpenAI to pilot ChatGPT Enterprise for state employees.

The Move: He is currently pushing GRID (Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development), which aims to make PA a global hub for energy-hungry data centers—essential for the AI era—while trying to balance environmental pushback.

2028 Potential: High. He is consistently ranked as a top-tier moderate who can win over the "Displaced Rust Belt" you mentioned in Phase 3. He takes the "data-first" approach of Yang but adds the polish of a popular swing-state governor.
 

Wes Moore (Governor, MD)

The Platform: Moore’s brand is "Work, Wages, and Wealth." He has adopted a proactive stance on the "AI Economy" that mirrors Yang’s warnings about workforce displacement.

The Move: In early 2026, Moore launched a $4 million AI Workforce Investment, creating grants for "upskilling" and "reskilling" workers specifically for the AI economy. He often speaks about "service-to-career" pathways, which aligns with Yang’s interest in intentional communities and non-traditional labor.

2028 Potential: Rising. Moore is a powerful orator who can bridge the gap between the progressive and moderate wings. His focus on "future-proofing" the workforce makes him a natural intellectual ally for Forward-leaning voters.

 

Ro Khanna (U.S. Rep, CA-17)

The Platform: Representing Silicon Valley, Khanna is the "Architect of the New Social Contract." If Yang is the one who identified the problem, Khanna is the one trying to legislate the solution in Congress.

The Move: He recently introduced the Creator Bill of Rights (2026), a direct response to the "Platform Economy" (Uber, YouTube, TikTok). It calls for portable benefits (a major Yang pillar)—allowing health care and retirement to follow the worker, not the employer.

2028 Potential: The Progressive Wildcard. Khanna is often the lone voice warning about "oligarchic capture" of AI. He could secure a nomination if the party decides to lean into "Economic Patriotism" mixed with "High-Tech Regulation."

 

The GOP Angle: Vivek Ramaswamy

On the Republican side, Vivek Ramaswamy (currently running for Governor of Ohio) has adopted the "outsider/disruptor" energy that Yang once held. While their solutions differ (Vivek favors cutting the "Administrative State" rather than UBI), they both appeal to the same "System is Broken" demographic. Vivek is the most likely Republican to adopt Yang-like rhetoric regarding the "technological displacement of the soul" and the need for a new national identity.

 

Do the MATH: Support Yang 2028

The biggest variable is the state of the country. If the next two years see significant economic disruption due to AI—or if the public remains deeply dissatisfied with the two-party "status quo"—the appetite for a data-driven, non-ideological problem solver could be higher than ever.

While he hasn't officially declared for 2028, he recently released a new book, Hey Yang, Where’s My Thousand Bucks?, which many see as a way to keep his policy ideas in the public eye as the next cycle approaches. He has teased it a number of times on his podcast, which has evolved from Yang Speaks into the aptly titled Andrew Yang Podcast.

Our current system is perfectly designed to give us the frustration we feel today. If you want a different result, you need to change the input.

Learn about UBI. Join the Forward Party. Let's stop fighting over the 20th century and start building the 21st. 

Resources to learn more: 

TED Talk: Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash: Skeptical about the merits of UBI? Watch this with an open mind to start. 

The War on Normal People: Get the book, learn how Yang does the math. It's pretty enlightening and hard to argue with. 

Raising the Floor by Andy Stern: Another great book about UBI and why poverty is a problem for everyone

Andrew Yang Podcast: Keep up with the great thinker's latest thinkings. I have gotten great book recommendations and been inspired by a number of these! 

Forward Party website and news: See the momentum in real time and find out how you can get involved!