Every technology that evolved into the public domain has certain principles and based on that popularity and requirement get defined. Blockchain technology was one of the few wonderful technologies that caught the attention of masses. It was invented to disrupt and challenge the dictatorship of the centralized system. The major coin like Bitcoin is that advent of the blockchain technology. But the emphasis here is more about the technology and what that brings to the public life and whether that addresses the problem the people are facing or not.
Yes, Blockchain does that. In fact, with the core principles, decentralization & peer-peer deals it has become a newfound medium of democracy as opposed to the traditional censored & centralized system. The business looks far more efficient, transparent and cost-effective for all types of people.
In essence, Blockchain is the raw fundamental with the underlying principle of decentralization. On the top of such a foundation(Blockchain), many wonderful things can be created which can serve the people and has the potential to replace the traditional means which is suppressing the people's voice.
Say, for example, social media is not wide open and censored and they have become the tradition of suppressing people's voices. The right to data protection is either non-existent or not robust. Business conduct is not transparent. The blockchain can reshape all these existing problems and can offer new platforms for the people where the decentralization will prevail, where the evolution will be based on what people naturally want.
Until now this technology was not addressed on a positive note in the political realm and this has never been the election agenda. But the clock is ticking in its own way. Now the 2020 presidential candidate of the US is talking about blockchain & crypto and he has a comprehensive plan to make policy on these which can ease the people's lives in the blockchain community. But it is not just about addressing a particular community and committing to making their life better. Rather the goal is large, plural. Andrew Yang sees great potential in the blockchain which can make the functioning of the government more transparent and efficient.
In democratic principles, the govt of a country is chosen by its people and after they get elected they are committed to serving the people and should act & behave in a way true people's representation.
But in reality that does not reflect. They are elected by the people, that is right. But for that, they use the institutional power(centralized) and do all possible manipulations and after coming to power they mostly set the policy which suits their corporate partners or financers.
Andrew Yang's policy calls for a revolution in this system and wants to see this system practicing democracy in a transparent and efficient and he foresees that blockchain can be the catalyst to bring this revolution.
His policy is quite comprehensive and covers a wide range of issues. But I want to highly those issues which the blockchain domain has been discussing for a long time and that probably in the ethos of decentralization. Say, for example, data protection, better tax rule for crypto, consumer protection, universal basic income, using blockchain technology to bring transparency in the election and to increase participation of voters.
So Andrew Yang is looking logical in his approach and really want to take the political practices to the next level. So it is obvious that he is being suppressed by the traditional centralized medium and institutions.
Data as a property right
Whether it is private life or professional life or public life there is some sort of venture with other private or public entities. Earlier when internet facility was not there, these ventures were mostly real world where a face to face engagement was there, but now the venture has become digital with the unprecedented rise of internet users. Engaging in social media has become a daily routine of people. So people do share their information online and as such that is not a bad thing in the first place, rather it has benefits. But in time it has become a subject of social engineering which tracks what you like, what is your area of interest, what is your goal of life, how much salary you draw and maybe your very personal data.
The social engineering has become a tool for many businesses and it gathers vast amount of information of the individuals across the globe and then the engineering & analysis is done which defines a certain trend or pattern of what people demand and what can be a business product for the companies. That implies that the data has a value.
As an individual, you are using social media with the intention of social engagement over internet. But the intention of the social media owner may not be the same. That may be a business goal. That's fine. But there is a dividing line of ethics to conduct that business. They collect your data, compile it, and send it to the companies who need those data.
Facebook has about 190 million users in the U.S., so we estimate that Facebook can make between $38 million and $76 million from selling such data points on American users.
So your own data is being traded & you don't have a clue and you do not have even given any permission to do so. How ethical that conduct is. If the internet has given a business opportunity, then it is equal for all. So the data of the individual must be considered as a property right.
But data protection is not just to stop this unethical business trade of data. There are many other objectives such as preventing fraudulent activities, misuse in the election, exploitation, etc.
Andrew Yang calls for a comprehensive law in the United States and wants to pass the law which will enact "the data as a property right" of the individual which will ensure the person's data to be protected, privacy will remain intact. Every individual can trade their data as they want.
If this will become law then the companies or the website must tell the user what kind of data of a user they have, the website must also inform if there will be breaches, the data must also be deleted upon request. The user must also have the right to opt-out of data sharing.
Again this is a people-centric or community-centric approach by Andrew Yang. The monopoly should end. A robust political exercise is required to ensure data protection fo the user. Data as a property right must become a law. That is what Andrew mentioned in his manifesto.
The decentralized social media like Steem blockchain does not collect data like Facebook nor they trade it for millions. The ethos of decentralization prevails in Steem blockchain.
Better tax rules for Crypto
A section of the society always argues that crypto could be the play of bad hands. But that is completely wrong. The reason being, if there does not exist clarity on regulation of an asset, then it could be the play of bad hands and fraud can happen. So it is not just about crypto but for any asset. Andrew Yang calls for better regulation and simplified tax rule for crypto asset.
As of now, in the US different departments define the crypto assets differently. For example, some call it a commodity, while others call it security and some others call it property. Yang calls for more clarity. Yang wants the US to remain competitive in the space of crypto. Crypto has a wide existence as on date, so the government can not remain ignorant for a long time.
Yang wants:
- Define what a token is.
- Define which agency of the Federal Government has the regulatory power over crypto assets.
- What will be the tax implications on the crypto users who own and trade the cryptocurrency.
Really, if these things will be clarified, then the crypto space will become more mobile. Glad that someone in the presidential race of 2020 is seriously taking this to the political debate and now has been listed in the election manifesto.
Universal Basic Income/Freedom Dividend
In the traditional system, there is a big gap between the rich and the poor. But that may not be a problem in its first place, but when the extent of poverty deprives someone of his basic needs then it creates a serious disparity that is not harmonious for the society. The traditional system is also centralized and in the control of 1 to 2% of the people. So with the money power, they can even create the rule and can also make those rules work to dictate upon the rest. By and large, that has been the case.
The other challenge includes the shift of technology towards automation, AI and there is a space that has been developing in the society and public domain where it encourages automation more and that is why the enterprises see a business opportunity in that. But unfortunately, that is leading to mass unemployment. The unskilled labors are the worst victim of such a trend. Say, for example, a robot can easily replace a fast-food worker and the consumer may like that. But eventually, an individual lost his job. As per the Experts, over the next 10-20 years, the robots will replace 40% of the humans working in various sectors.
So what would you do then?
If technology is leading to unemployment, then let's create another technology that can curb this. Let's create a technology which is not institutional centric of few people; rather let's create a technology which is community-oriented and if that will be community-oriented then it can care for the people of the community and that can ensure a minimum income for all the people so that no one can sleep in hunger, no one will die in starvation. Everyone will be able to fulfill their basic needs like food, shelter, medicare, etc.
What does that imply then?
A minimum guaranteed income is what Andrew Yang also says in his election manifesto. He says every American should get 1000 USD paycheck every month unconditionally. The only qualification required is the beneficiary must be a living being and he must be 18 years of age & above. Yang calls for UBI or the freedom dividend.
Simply put, Andrew Yang is having a community-oriented approach. He wants to bring this ethos of decentralization in the from of political revolution.
Yang says that with the UBI everyone will be able to fulfill the basic need. So the benchmark threshold would be shifted to a better level. The secondary benefit of UBI is that everyone will get a fair chance to start again without having any fear, anxiety, hunger, etc. That will bring peace and harmony in society too because people will do away with tit-for-tat attitude.
As per Yang, the major problem is that the pace of technology and its advancement is not matching with the pace of humans in a broad segment. That mismatch is creating friction and leading to unemployment. Therefore UBI is needed to allow every individual to cope up with such a change.
UBI can also deliver a better economy as compared to what it is if it will be combined with human capitalism. The institutional capitalism is neither compatible with UBI nor with community-oriented technology. So a decentralized technology and human capitalism will ensure UBI for all, yet can boost the economy to a new level by encouraging people who like to spend more, by the organic and natural evolution of skills which will create new types of job in the horizon, people will experience more freedom to switch, move and innovate.
Use of Blockchain technology to bring transparency in the voting system
In 2020, the election system and the practices are not supportive of democracy and decentralization. The voting machines which are used to collect the votes of people at the booth are vulnerable to hacking. But other than that it is really ridiculous to stand in a queue for hours in voting booths, considering the fact that technology is there. That is also the biggest reason why there has always been the lower voter turn out(around 50%).
Whether one does vote or does not, maybe a choice, but if you don't elect your president then you may get your president by force. So better voter turn out is important for the spirit of democracy.
It’s ridiculous that in 2020 we are still standing in line for hours to vote in antiquated voting booths. It is 100% technically possible to have fraud-proof voting on our mobile phones today using the blockchain. This would revolutionize true democracy and increase participation to include all Americans — those without smartphones could use the legacy system and lines would be very short.
Yang calls for fraud-proof mobile voting using blockchain. The immutable secured public ledger of blockchain can be used to ensure that the democracy and the election can be fraud-proof & transparent. On top of that, it will definitely increase the voter turn-out as people won't have to visit a booth and stand for hours in a queue. A significant amount of election budget can be saved which can be utilized in other developments.
Other important points by Yang
The advancement of technology in America has driven the advancement of humanity nationally and globally. But technology has also outpaced our government's understanding of it, and regulations are falling short of protecting us from Big Tech companies that are prioritizing profits over our well-being.
Yang's plan is to accommodate a policy that can check the vulnerabilities of modern technology and the impact of technology on human lives such as socioeconomic status, cognitive functions must be addressed and the law should hold the tech companies accountable for that.
He further calls for a better understanding of the technology. The technology may be advancing but it has been growingly becoming a grey area for the policymaker and the lawmakers. That gap is widening. The govt must address this and should not be ignorant of it.
Conclusion
With all the above analysis of his policies, I must say that this presidential candidate of 2020(Andrew Yang) is a Blockchain advocate. He is logical, eloquent and rational in his approach. He wants to tune the political effort so that democracy and decentralization can prevail. But unfortunately, he is being censored in the institutional media. I invite him to join Steem blockchain which is non-censored and decentralized. I stand with Andrew Yang and want to see him as the next president of the United States. Both the democracy & the medium(decentralized social media to express thoughts) can get their due, should he be elected as the next president of the United States in 2020. Thank you.
Contest Link
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