The War on Normal People: The Truth About America's Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future Hardcover – April 3, 2018

I'm not inclined to review things, so I'm not exaggerating when I say this book is so important to America right now that it's making me get off my butt and write this review.Recently I watched Joe Rogan's now-famous YouTube interview with Andrew Yang, and was struck by the stellar quality of Yang's answers to Rogan's often difficult questions. Yang consistently backed up his assertions with facts and data and generally came off as someone who really knows what he's talking about.It turns out (to me) that Yang essentially prepared for the interview, and his presidential candidacy, by writing this book. Those who watched the interview (I recommend it as a high-quality debate/discussion about American issues, virtually unheard of today) will recognize that Yang's talking points all come from this book.Which is fine. In fact, it's a positive sign for his candidacy. Yang is clearly not running for President just to be President. He has zeroed in on the great challenges facing America now - income inequality, increasing joblessness, the opioid epidemic, the healthcare mess - and identified real, practical solutions. Yang is running for President because he wants to get things done.This is in line with his history as a serial entrepreneur. And while that history is a connecting thread providing the insight here, one doesn't get the sense that this book is about Yang. In other words, this doesn't feel like just another "my story" book published in advance of a presidential campaign. At its most personal, this book is about the future that Yang's children, and all American children, will inherit.One powerful takeaway from this book is how not conventionally left/right-wing Yang is. As he says in the Rogan interview, "It's not left or right, it's forward." His idea of a Universal Basic Income may seem leftist - except that no less than Richard Nixon championed the idea in the 1970s, and Alaska, a red state, has successfully had its own version for over 40 years. Yang is also an unabashed capitalist - yet he spends a good chunk of the book talking about how capitalism needs to support the human good, not pure profit.What this says to me as a political independent is that Yang currently seems to be the best presidential candidate, in that (a) by not positioning himself as left or right, he is better positioned to work in a bipartisan manner and break the terrible gridlock that afflicts Congress; and (b) he actually knows what he is talking about. He is not saying things to win political points - in fact, this book is almost nothing but uncomfortable facts and forecasts - and he has said that he is OK with not getting elected if his ideas get implemented by someone else.Not adopting hard left/right stances makes Yang not conventionally attractive to the media. This book is essentially a longform journalism piece on the state of America today, the type of thoughtful, un-slanted journalism so rare today. I don't think "red" or "blue" when I read this book.If I could, I would buy a copy of this book for every American citizen. If you have a vague feeling that America is not heading down the right path, this book illuminates that path with sober and specific detail. But this book also offers potential light at the end of the tunnel. I am not telling you to vote for Yang - heck, I may not even do so myself - but I am telling you to consider carefully what he says.The campaign season is full of soundbites, most without substance and many just plain false. In contrast, this book is a deep look inside the mind of a presidential candidate. I doubt Yang will say much more on the campaign trail what he's said in this book - which is fine. This book already proves he has more substance than most candidates out there.

I had the pleasure to listen to the audiobook as well as read the book and I was taken away by what I read. Andrew Yang highlights the current job market that is much more technologically inclined and is leaving many blue-collar workers in the dust as they struggle to survive in this dramatic change sweeping not just our country but the world.He also speaks of a need for a universal basic income and not just as a means to help deal with this oncoming crisis. UBI would instantly boost millions out of poverty and instantly give millions more a means to do other productive things. There have been many studies and test programs that have all been remarkably outstanding in support of UBI and it would truly be a gamechanger if implemented in the US.Putting all that aside, The best part of the book for me is that Yang isn't just rambling on with nonsense. He sites the data and studies he uses to back up his arguments so you don't feel the need to treat anything he says with a grain of salt. It is all right there in black and white for you to see and I love that. I truly and highly recommend giving this book a chance. It's incredibly insightful and impactful.

Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel explained why some countries have more “cargo” than others. Andrew Yang’s book explains why some Americans have much more cargo than others and where this trend is taking us. As one of his proposed management strategies, he argues for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). I suppose the main issue is if a UBI will create value.He wrote (p. 166) that UBI was proposed by former SEIU President Andy Stern in the book Raising the Floor. I’m currently a job steward with the SEIU Local 1000 and during one of our meetings with a union representative, I learned that about 40 clerical workers at a state agency risk losing their jobs to automation. A UBI might help them during this transition period in their lives.I commute to work by bus and I see the homeless every morning, carrying their sleeping bags, performing warmup exercises in front of a reflective glass doorway, standing around despondently, etc. A bus driver told me that she was one paycheck away from being homeless herself. A UBI might be the cushion she needs to keep from becoming one of the people she drives by each morning.After one of the many massive wildfires in Northern California, I overheard a bus passenger say that she was an evacuee. She and her brother were searching for a place to live. A UBI might have made their lives easier during their search.I was a university student for many, many years. I remember buying five cans of green beans for two dollars at a local Lucky's grocer. That was my school lunch for a week. A UBI would have helped me with my food situation.I’m a member of a YMCA fitness center. Years ago, a newly married fitness trainer realized that he needed higher pay to start a family. He left the Y for a for-profit gym. A UBI may allow people to work for the non-profit organizations that they love.I’m more of a biologist than economist. But it seems to me that the economy can be analogized to the human body and money becomes comparable to blood. No matter how much money or blood is present, if it’s not circulating, it’s not doing any good. Entities that hoard wealth without creating value may thrive like tumors that capture increasing amounts of nutrients from the circulation. Blood-deprived tissues, or money-deprived sectors of the economy, will suffer and/or die. The human body requires many regulatory mechanisms (i.e., checks and balances) to grow, perform, and maintain good health. I assume the economy needs the same.I agree with the author’s comment, “We must make the market serve humanity rather than have humanity continue to serve the market.” (p. xviii) In my Amazon review of Napoleon Hill’s Law of Success (1925 manuscript version), I wrote, “Ideally, people come before money. Perhaps like self-government, money should be of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

Yang has produced a brilliant analysis of the situation that the developed world is facing; that automation is not only going to cause massive job losses, but that it has already started - a process which he has termed the 'Great Displacement'. In summary, hardly anyone is safe - but society has the option to ensure that almost everyone comes out of this much better off. I'm impressed by his proposals for adjusting society to the coming reality - and as such I'm glad to read that he is running for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020. Hopefully, some of his insight and ideas will reach the political leaders of the UK sooner rather than later.For anyone interested in the topic at all, this is undoubtedly an essential read. For anyone who isn't interested in the topic - you should be. You will be interested in five years. Best to get a head start.

This book tells you the reality of the 21st century. I'm from the UK and I believe Andrew Yang needs to become President of America in 2020 because the problems are getting much worse. Automation has been with us for centuries and technology has gotten better and better in every decade. Artificial intelligence is around the corner and I am worried about the future, which will ruin our mental health, extremely bad as before.

Probably one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. The first half is a bit depressing as it paints a bleak picture of the future for many employed people. However, the second half offers some brilliant and innovative solutions. I’ve recommended this book to dozens of people and I hope the author goes on to achieve his goals for all of us!

I'm convinced. If you're just vaguely aware of Universal Basic Income as an impractical idea on the periphery, this book might bring things into focus and change your mind. By no means is the idea specific to the United States. I think South Africa needs UBI even more, and even breezy New Zealand doesn't escape the cold logic and pressures to which UBI is the reply. Up to date, topical, well written book by a person who is actually doing something about it.

Really interesting, thought provoking read. Would recommend to anyone who liked Sapiens or Homo Deux.Does seem to present a picture of the sort of society we should already be living in.