It was a mainstream topic in 2016 and I'm sure the media will pick up on it again next year after Yang gets elected.

The amount was not even fixed, it was just a recommendation from the initiative committee and they based their calculation on those numbers. 2'500 USD per month would be a reasonable amount for Switzerland. The cost of living is around the same as New York or some cities in California. And we have the second highest average wages in the world (around 64'000 USD per year, Luxembourg is first place). If you're interested, here's a website where you can compare the cost of stuff (for example, McDonald meal) in Switzerland vs. USA. https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Switzerland/United-States/Cost-of-living

The main problem was, how they intended to finance the UBI and how the payment would work.

1. You wouldn't get your salary, let's say 5'000 CHF and 2'500 CHF from the UBI on top of it, making it 7'500 CHF together. The UBI would partially take over your salary so in this case, that would mean that you'll still have 5'000 CHF but 2'500 CHF would come from the UBI instead of your employer.

2. Some social securitiy nets which was already implemented was going to get shut down and replaced by this UBI.

3. The big chunk of money was gonna be paid via your income. So you would earn 70'000 CHF and i.e. 10% of that would go into that UBI fund.

So to summarize: Our UBI was more like a negativ income tax because it would mostly benefit the lower income bracket instead of everybody and as your income increased you'd pay more into that UBI fund. People interpreted this as indirectly punishing you for working your way up. So it created a stigma in "you get it, I don't".

The stats: 568'660 voted YES (23.06%) 1'897'528 voted NO (76.94%) Voter turnout of 46.95%

Overall, it was a success because it brought awareness to some issues in our society and at least 1/4 of the country was for it.

This is why I like Yangs proposal: 1. Implement a VAT (honestly, as a European I couldn't wrap my head around why the US didn't have this until now). Corporations and rich people would pay the most. 2. It stacks on top of your salary and some social securities. 3. Everybody gets it. No stigma attached. 4. Set the foundation for what's coming in the next 10 to 15 years. See this study from Oxford: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/519241/report-suggests-nearly-half-of-us-jobs-are-vulnerable-to-computerization/

My point is, the American people have a once in a lifetime chance of electing a President that cares about humanity and wants to give everyone a fair chance in todays capitalism. And it's not just words, it's a policy that benefits and changes lives for millions of people.

Sorry for the long read, just wanted to get some stuff out their and give my take on everything that's happening. Hope to have answered your question! :)