Dave Chappelle On His Support For Andrew Yang: "What Would You Rather Have, $12,000 [Extra] A Year Or Health Insurance?"

Photo Credit: Vickey Ford for Okayplayer

A part of Andrew Yang's plan if he were to become president is offering a universal basic income for all American adults, which be $1,000 a month.

Dave Chappelle spoke alongside Andrew Yang about why he endorsed the presidential candidate prior to a show in Iowa on Tuesday night.

READ: This Is Why Dave Chappelle Didn't Accept His Best Comedy Album Grammy Award

In a report from the Des Moines Register, Chappelle discussed how Yang's universal basic income proposal, referred to as the "Freedom Dividend," was what sold him on the candidate and led to the comedian endorsing him. Through Yang's Freedom Dividend, "Every U.S. citizen over the age of 18 would receive $1,000 a month, regardless of income or employment status," according to Yang's website.

"The wealth disparity between me and my neighbors is immense. It's heartbreaking," Chappelle said. "And if you know a third of the people up the street can't buy groceries, then you start to feel an imperative concern. It's not the kind of thing I could just see and hope for the best, I should probably say something."

Also present during the talk was local independent news outlet Iowa Starting Line, who shared video of some of Chappelle's comments on its Twitter account. In the videos, he spoke further about Yang's universal basic income proposal, and how he thinks it could benefit people in his own Dayton, Ohio.

"Dayton, Ohio, there's like a third of the people there living below the poverty line," Chappelle said. "You take a poll in Dayton and say what would you rather have, $12,000 a year or health insurance? Everyone’s taking the money. Health insurance is great, but groceries are necessary too."

"I started imagining what a universal basic income would do for my community and it would save it almost instantly," he added. "I like the idea of giving people choices, putting the money in their hands and giving them the choice. They would consider things that aren't even an option to consider now, and they could do things that aren't an option to do."

Elsewhere in that video, Chappelle spoke about the controversy surrounding this year's election cycle, as well as his thoughts on Trump supporters.

"I don't look at Trump supporters as my enemy at all. I understand why people voted for Trump, I understand people are desperate," Chappelle said. "...I got friends on both sides of the political aisle, I got fans on both sides of the political aisle."

Source: Des Moines Register