NOTE: While I did support certain candidates in the 2019–20 Democratic primaries because of their ideas (e.g. UBI, anti-war, broad tent approach), it doesn't mean I endorse their other positions.
Welcome to the new TaraElla News, where we examine the latest political and cultural news from the perspective of upholding classical liberal values like individual freedom, equal opportunity and free speech. We'll be doing this on most days of the week, subscribe if you're interested.
Today, I want to talk about the recent exchange between Andrew Yang and Meghan McCain on Yang's policy of providing free marriage counselling for all couples who want it. While Yang is most well-known for the Freedom Dividend, his platform is actually full of interesting and unique policies, you should go check it out if you haven't already. Yang justifies his policy of free marriage counselling on the fact that studies have proven children who grow up in two-parent households have a range of better outcomes. In other words, since it is better for the kids and hence better for society that mom and dad stay together, it is justified to spend money to help moms and dads everywhere stay together. Very logical.
In fact, I would add that there are other equally important reasons for providing free marriage counselling, that perhaps couldn't be proven by academic studies. For example, strong and stable families mean a stronger social fabric and a higher level of social trust, which would also mean that we can have more conducive discussions on social issues, and hence a more functional free market of ideas. There's also a case to be made that a strong social fabric and strong social institutions are needed to satisfy people's need for meaningful relationships and attachment, and if we improved on that front we are likely to see less tribalism and identity politics. Overall, there are indeed many reasons to support free marriage counselling, and I am actually surprised that not more candidates are having this in their platform.
So what problems did Meghan McCain have with Yang's policy of free marriage counselling? She seems to think that it's a one size fits all thing, and it wouldn't benefit people like herself, because her version of marriage counselling is more like drinking Jack Daniels, shooting some guns and hanging out. She goes on to say that, the universal peg for every hole approach is her problem with the 'left' right now. But then, as I understand it, it's not like couples must go to a particular state sponsored service to qualify for the benefit. As I understand it, couples who go to any licenced marriage counsellor can qualify for the benefit, and since different therapists have very different approaches, there is a large element of choice here, and it certainly isn't one size fits all. Of course, it won't cover couples who only want to drink some beer and shoot some guns. But then, we need to remember that the program is targeted at couples who are most at risk of marriage breakdown, and thus would benefit from some form of professional therapy. In other words, it's not meant for all couples, it's meant for those who need it. And even for couples who don't need it, they will still benefit from the general norm of stronger families and a stronger social fabric, so they will still get something out from it.
The other thing is, we should also probably remind Meghan McCain that Andrew Yang isn't necessarily in the 'left'. Anyone familiar with him would know the slogan 'not left, not right, but forward'. Besides, even the left, just like the right, is a diverse bunch, and I really hate seeing people who generalize and stereotype those on the opposite side of politics. Not everyone on the left believes in one size fits all policies, just like not everyone on the right is against gay marriage, for example.
That's all for today. I'll be back next time to discuss another big idea. Subscribe if you want to follow our story. The transcripts are available on my website, and my Medium profile. And remember to resist the hive mind and stay individualistic. The world depends on it.
