Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is backing a massive economic infusion that would help restart the U.S. economy as companies and workers struggle to stay afloat during weeks of shelter-in-place orders across the country to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In a tweet sent on Friday, the former tech entrepreneur said the United States “will need a Marshall Plan-style initiative” to help rebuild hard-hit areas, jump-start manufacturing, and remove trade barriers between nations.
“The US will need a Marshall Plan-style initiative to resuscitate and rebuild our economy and society after we come back from this crisis,” Yang said. “It will be a generational endeavor as the scars will run deep. It will be the project of our time.”
The US will need a Marshall Plan-style initiative to resuscitate and rebuild our economy and society after we come back from this crisis. It will be a generational endeavor as the scars will run deep. It will be the project of our time.
— Andrew Yang? (@AndrewYang) April 3, 2020
The Marshall Plan, named after Secretary of State George Marshall, was a foreign assistance program begun after World War II to help rebuild war-torn regions, modernize industries, and slow the spread of communism. The U.S. committed close to $130 billion in today’s dollars to the bailout plan, which is often referenced when lawmakers propose large-scale economic programs.
Yang called for a “bottom-up” approach in follow-up tweets, stressing that politicians will need to listen to working-class people instead of corporate businesses if they intend to rebuild in the wake of 10 million unemployment claims.
“It’s tough to say but politics is going to be more important than ever in terms of figuring out what the plan looks like and who gets what,” Yang added. “We need to stop pretending that helping big institutions helps people.”
Yang ended his 2020 presidential campaign on Feb. 11 after pushing a policy platform of giving every American $1,000 a month failed to resonate with voters. He joined CNN as a commentator later that month.
