Imagine getting a check for $1,000 from this point on, on the first day of every month, deposited directly into your bank account.  What would that do to give you peace of mind that there’s an income floor under you?  Andrew Yang made this concept a basic tenet of his 2020 presidential run calling it a  ‘Freedom Dividend’ as he saw frightened Americans looking at their downside prospects in the wake of automation and job outsourcing.  To those who think the idea of Universal Basic Income is a liberal utopian concept, it actually harkens back to conservative economist Milton Friedman who preferred this notion to the many categorical programs we have now, like SNAP benefits.  Richard Nixon actually proposed something like it during his presidency.  Today, municipalities across the country are experimenting with it in various forms.  And early research tells us that people put the money to good effect, helping them to provide food and shelter in these uncertain times.  We’re joined today by Jim Pugh, co-director of the Universal Income Project(universalincome.org)to describe how it works and what the likelihood that it will gain more traction in the years ahead.