Andrew Yang has a lot to say about his cornerstone policy proposal for his 2020 U.S. presidential bid, which is the Freedom Dividend, a Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme. Now, you’re probably thrilled or horrified. What’s the big deal?

UBI is one way to address income inequality. While some economists argue that a degree of income inequality is normal and healthy for a prospering nation, even they agree that inequality has gone too far in countries like the U.S. While there hasn’t been much talk about UBI lately besides Yang, experiments are still ongoing around the world. And, as Yang points out in our talk, the inexorable march of automation means the question of how to meaningfully support a population with a shrinking number of jobs isn’t going to go away.

Download this podcast

HBR Presents is a network of podcasts curated by HBR editors, bringing you the best business ideas from the leading minds in management. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harvard Business Review or its affiliates.