Confession.
Math is not my friend. I'm talking about all math. Not just advanced math; the works. I mean, I can count change, even deal with multiplication; division; some fractions; but that's about it.
Mind goes blank when letters of the alphabet slide in. Like, if A is twice B and stuff like that. Eyes glaze over. You might as well be going "Blah blah blah."
I'm off in a corner, sucking my thumb.
But, I'll tell you this, straight out, no hesitation: I know what I know and I am who I am.
When it comes to imagination, concepts, speculation, what-if this or that, the capacity to distinguish between hopeless fantasy and absolute reality, I'm right in there with the best.
Lifetime in the ad biz; masters of the game.
Heard it all.
I know B.S.
So, trust me when I tell you, the guy I heard this morning on KQED, then looked up and tracked on TV, just blew me away,
His name is Andrew Yang. I know nothing about him.
He's 44 –a kid practically– and declared himself a candidate for the presidency in 2020.
Now, frankly, just between you and me, I don't think he has a prayer of being elected president, but what nailed me was listening to a guy who's not just smarter, more imaginative, more articulate in his identification and understanding of the imminence of the nationwide financial crisis we're facing, but who, with great clarity —even I understood what he was saying— presents a clear, complete, national plan to address the issue.
My strong belief is that he knows he doesn't have a chance of being voted into office. He's not a fool. I mean, just look at the lineup of candidates.
But, on the other hand, I'd be willing to bet that he also knows that just being some bright guy on a TV talk show is not going to give him the platform he needs to get national attention and understanding of the urgency of our approaching financial disaster.
So, hopefully, being a candidate, he'd be up there with all the candidates, and at least one of them is bound to recognize the simplicity, mathematical clarity and brilliance of Yang's platform and be smart enough to adopt some or all of it.
Not so far fetched.
One thing is a certainty: just talking about a plan that gives every person a thousand dollars a month is going to scare the poop out of the usual suspects.
Be prepared for the hysteria.
I can hear it now:
Plan? Give away money? Whose money? Where does it come from? What kind of plan is that? It's a plan for freeloaders is what it is. I mean, why look for a job when they're giving you a thousand bucks a month, eh? Talk about national debt? Through the roof…
Repeat: Finance is not my strong suit.
I'm zero in the financial world; I don't know squat.
But I do read people really, really well.
Just Google Andrew Yang. Let him explain.
Interesting at the very least.
You might agree or not.
But I bet you'll feel it right away.
This guy's the real deal.
Check him out.