hi, everyone, welcome to "on the money." i'm becky quick. what if the government gave everyone a check every month, no strings attached. could it be a new safety net or a tangled web? the search for a cure. paying the high cost for a new cancer research plan. your supermarket is changing. check out ways you can save money. the lobster boom. how a local seafood industry is charting a new course. and a robot trying to sell you a car. the surprising way viewers are getting you into the showroom. "on the money" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "on the money," your money, your life, your future. now, becky quick. >> we begin with free money. what if the federal government gave everyone a check every month,

not? it's a controversial idea that has some surprising advocates. money for nothing is this week's cover story. nearly half of all u.s. jobs could be replaced by robots in the next ten to 20 years, but what happens to the workers thrown out of work? facebook ceo mark zuckerberg called for a radical change in his speech to harvard's graduating class. >> we should explore ideas like universal basic income to make sure everyone has a cushion to try out new ideas. >> it's an unconditional periodic cash payment that the government makes to everyone, whether you're unemployed or wealthy, a $1,000 monthly government check would replace all current welfare programs, including social security. another supporter, elon musk, said there's a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income due to automation. the cash could fund basic needs like food and housing while people find new jobs in the digital economy, but opponents warn the digital

actually increase poverty. could universal basic income or would it make people not want to work? we have two views today, michael tanner and jason furman, harvard kennedy school professor, chief economist to president obama. gentlemen, thank you both for joining us today. michael, let's start with you. this idea of free money seems to violate the american work ethic. why do you think a universal basic income is a good idea? >> well, i think it would theoretically, at least, be superior to the existing social welfare system. it would be more efficient, it would be more humane, and it would be a lot less paternalistic. the current system penalizes people if they get a job and leave welfare. the marginal tax rates for leaving welfare for work are extraordinarily high. this is theoretically a way of dealing with problems in the existing welfare system. >> jason, why do you think he's wrong? >> you know, a lot of people when they first hear this idea really like it, and then when you look at the details,

out it doesn't work, it costs $2, $3 trillion, you would need to double the current income tax to make it work, and i think the premise underlying it is wrong, too. there's going to be a lot of automation, but there's also going to be a lot of jobs, and our focus should be making sure people can get those jobs, not giving up and universal basic income represents really giving up in the face of that challenge. >> what about jason's point that universal basic income is basically giving up? what do you think about that? >> well, i think if you look at it that way, it probably is. we do need to train people, do things to create room for economic growth and new jobs. that said, we have a social welfare system that spends nearly a trillion dollars a year fighting poverty, and it doesn't do a very good job of enabling people to rise and get out of poverty and in control of their lives. looking for a new alternative to that is not a bad idea. >> jason, that's an interesting point. a lot of people who

the cycle of poverty, can't break out of it, like michael points out, it can be a paternalistic system. how do we fix the system we have now, and could universal basic income be a step towards that sort of movement? >> you know, there's an increasing range of economic research that shows that programs that invest in children, whether it's food stamps, medicaid, housing vouchers, actually increase their mobility. they get higher test scores, they are more likely to graduate from school, they have higher earnings and better health outcomes as adults. and that's an example of how our current system is certainly imperfect. i don't want to be the defender of the status quo, but i do think it's important to invest more in children, to invest in health care, nutrition. some of these things really make sense. if somebody's disabled, they should get more money than someone who's not disabled. it sounds complicated, but underlying it, there's a set of tradeoffs and we can improve on those tradeoffs, but again, it's ju

write everyone a check. let's spend trillions of dollars doing that, rather than doing the hard work of trying to get the programs right. >> pretty radical idea, but are there places in the world it's been tested, places where it's working? >> well, we don't have a lot of wide scale evidence yet. there are a number of ongoing experiments at places like finland, the netherlands, canada, so on. but let's remember the u.s. social welfare system is hardly efficient. we have over 100 different welfare programs all with different rules and regulations. there are overseen by dozens of agencies, departments, congressional committees. it's very hard for us to determine exactly which are effective and which ones aren't. simplifying, consolidating, moving to cash would make a great deal of difference, i think. >> elon musk and mark zuckerberg, pretty bright people who have thrown in the idea of really giving this a try and maybe saying this is the right way to go. do backers like that give you thought to say, okay, maybe we should consider this? >> you know, elon musk is more of a visionary than

this case maybe 50, 100 years ago we have enough robots to make everything that they can just hand the proceeds over to us, but i'm trying to think on the scale of the next 10, 20, 30 years, not to take our jobs on any time scale that i'm capable of envisioning. >> jason and michael, thank you both for your time. definitely gives us some food for thought. >> thank you. >> thank you. now here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week "on the money." america's economy expanded at a solid rate in the second quarter, led by consumer spending. the gdp the broadest measure of the size and scope of the economy grew from april to june. that's up from the revised 1.2% growth that we saw in the first three months of the year. the doucet a record high on thursday and a strong week for stocks. on tuesday the s&p 500 closed at a record high and the nasdaq ended three record closes in a row, boeth closed lower on thursday. markets were mixed on

richest person briefly. bezos overtook bill gates for the top spot on the list, but after the internet giant reported profits of a third of what wall street expected, amazon stocks slipped. easy come, easy go. up next, we're "on the money" in the battle against cancer. scientists are finding new weapons. but who is funding the fight? and later, supermarket strategy. don't miss the money-saving tips down every aisle. right now, though, take a look at how the stock market ended . [ indistinct chatter ] [ intense music playing ] it's here, but it's going by fast. the opportunity of the year is back: the mercedes-benz summer event. get to your dealer today for incredible once-a-season offers,

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scientists made great strides against cancer, but finding new drugs and innovative treatments is a

expensive battle. the dana-farber cancer institute in boston is a leading treatment and research center. laurie glimcher is president and ceo. doctor, thank you very much for joining us today. >> my pleasure, becky. >> senator john mccain's battle with brain cancer has brought a new focus not only on his disease, but cancer in general. where do we stand right now in innovative treatments? >> we have huge progress for innovative treatments in many cancers, including at dana-farber, which is a very difficult cancer. for example, we have several clinical trials now in progress, one of them is an immunotherapy with initially promising results. >> immunotherapy sounds amazing with some of the advances that have been made, but why is it that it tends to work on some tumors, not others, and works on some patients, but not others? >> if we knew the answer to that, we'd be able to treat all of our patients. there are some tumors that

immuno responsive and there are others that prove to be resistant like ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, but there are some patients that have responded to immunotherapy and we need to do a lot more research to try to figure out why one patient with one cancer responds while another patient with a different cancer doesn't respond. >> you're part of former vice president joe biden's moon shot project to try and battle cancer. are federal dollars still coming in on that front? >> federal dollars still have coming in for the cancer moon shot and for precision medicine. there's been a $1.1 billion increase in e budget. really, though, if we wanted to have kept pace with inflation over the last decade, the nih budget would be closer to the mid-40s than it is to its current at $34 to $35 billion. >> it's not just the research that's so costly, it's the cost of patients who are hopg

and combination therapies that can be pretty staggering. how do patients get squeezed into this position and where do you think problems lie, if at all, in this relationship? >> well, the price of some of the new drugs is high, but let's remember that these are truly transformative drugs. we want all of our patients to be able to afford to be treated with the new drugs, and we make sure that's the case at dana-farber. >> how do insurance companies come down on this? >> we treat everybody at dana-farber and assume the cost that is necessary. with commercial insurers, in general there's good reimbursement of those costs. >> if i'm sitting at home watching this, i'm somebody who has an issue, some health care issue, i can just show up at dana-farber and it will be taken care of? you can't take care of everybody in the country. >> we will take care of every patient that comes to dana-farber.

>> we also do a lot of clinical trials at dana-farber, because it's our belief that every patient for whom we don't have adequate standard of care for their cancer should have access to clinical trials. >> that's great. as we watch the health care battle play out in washington, all of this uncertainty about the affordable care act. how does that impact cancer patients and hospitals like your own? >> at the moment, we're on hold. i don't think we can predict what the future's going to be, whether the -- whether congress is going to abandon the attempt to repeal and replace the aca or whether they are going to push forward. it makes a difference for cancer patients, because cancer -- because of the success we've had in keeping cancer patients alive, they need chronic treatment. and the branding of those patients as having pre-existing conditions would be

>> dr. glimcher, i want to thank you very much for your time today. >> my pleasure. thank you, becky. up next, we are "on the money." shop like a pro. how to navigate your grocery store and save money at the checkout. later, casting a wide net. ho just like the people who own them, every business is different. but every one of those businesses will need legal help as they age and grow. whether it be help starting your business, vendor contracts or employment agreements. legalzoom's network of attorneys can help you every step of the way so you can focus on what you do. we'll handle the legal stuff that comes up along the way. legalzoom. legal help is here. grecalculating., come to a complete stop. ♪ in one mile, arrive at a place where you make your own lane.

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be fun to save money on your next trip. consumer report is out with its shop smarter guide to supermarkets. joining us to talk about is tobie stanger. tobie, there's a lot of competition out there for your grocery dollars. what are the traditional grocery stores doing to hold on to some of that? >> grocery stores are under a lot of competition, especially the sort of middle of the road grocers, so some of them are trying new delivery methods, whether it's successful or not, we'll find out. the newer stores that they are building are sometimes smaller, so people can get in and out more quickly with a more curated selection. and they are also going very big into private label. >> what about just product placement on shelves? that used to be like the traditional mantra, it mattered. does it still, and why? >> it does still matter. the end caps where you have big specials at the end of the aisle, those do matter. and, in fact, when you're shopping, one way to save money is look high and low, because those are going to be the brands that aren't paying the extra money to be

so you may find some discounts there. >> that's an interesting thought. do shopping apps help you save money? we hear about these things all the time. >> they can. a lot of them are tagged to the connected to your supermarket loyalty program, so there's something called slitp, so you take your cell phone when you get to checkout and they scan it and you get the manufacturers discount and supermarket loyalty discounts all tallied up at once on your bill, so those kinds of things, coupons.com, something called ibotta, they all have different methods of doing it, they are all free, and what the heck, try them. >> for somebody like me, i'm really time crunched, end up shopping almost exclusively at freshdirect.com. they'll deliver the stuff to me. what are the grocers doing on that front? what about in terms of these online services, how do they rate? >> we rated 62 brick and mortar brands, supermarkets, and then we also rated four

delivery-only, you know, online delivery services for satisfaction. and the online delivery, people like them, generally. they rated amazon fresh a little bit higher than some of the others, pea pods, instacarts, fresh direct, but all within the same range. supermarkets are trying to compete. they are increasing delivery and click and collect, where you go online, make the order, and you go and pick it up. it's supposed to help with time saving, but there needs to be more for busy people that don't want to spend the time getting in the car with their kids, strapping them in. >> defeats the purpose if i have to pick it up. i want it here, i want it delivered quickly. thank you very much, great to see you. >> thank you, likewise. if you shopped for lobster, you know it can be pricey. now the industry is working hard to get more people to shell out the big bucks. contessa brewer took to the high seas off portland to see how

>> jack thomas has been lobstering since he was 14 years old, and though he has a day job as a financial adviser, in the mornings he's out checking his traps. these days he's really hauling them in. >> the last couple years have been record years for me. >> u.s. lobstermen have quin br in more than 80% of that came from maine. in 2012, a historic harvest sent prices plummeting. the industry responded with a big push into new foreign markets. >> china saved our bacon. the price was an all-time low, i think the statewide average was $2.69 and we aggressively opened the market over there and it became really popular within the middle class. >> and demand in china keeps growing, from 1.3 million lobster in 2010 to more than 84 million last year. a pound and a half lobster

fetch as much as $100 at a chinese celebration. it's popular because its name means dragon, it resembles the mythical creature, and when cooked, turns the lucky color red. distributors are also marketing maine lobster to families as a clean source of quality protein. and it's not just about finding new international customers for the lobster. the industry's also trying to build more demand in the united states. >> people care about who catches their food. well, our lobstermen are some of the best people on the planet, so telling their stories matters a lot. >> lobstermen fly to events around the country to meet chefs face-to-face, talking about sustainability. that commitment began more than a century ago with lobstermen throwing back undersized or oversized lobster and leaving the egg-bearing females. lobster flourished as other industries overfished, predator species like haddock. >> the whole industry started by, you know, fathers, sons,

business and teaching, here, this is how you do it. this is the proper way. take care of it so you can have it for tomorrow. >> for "on the money," i'm contessa brewer off the coast of maine. >> by the way, folks, there really isn't a lobster season in maine, lobster season is year round there. imagine doing that in february. up next, aook at the week ahead. plus, the bots are coming, the bots are coming, but will you know it? the mercedes-benz summer event is back, with incredible offers on the mercedes-benz you've always longed for. but hurry, these shooting stars fly by fast. lease the c300 for $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. mercedes-benz. the best or nothing. iand you're taking warfarin, you have the choice of a different

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here are the stories coming up that may impact your money this week. on monday we'll get a read on housing demand across the country with the release of pending home sales data. on tuesday, auto sales numbers of are out for july, and how manufacturers are with the monthly index. thursday, factory orders of both durable and nondurable goods for june. another read of the economic strength. and on friday we'll see how many jobs were gained and lost in july when the government employment report is released. then after that boring stuff, dessert for you, too. grab milk and get your dunk on, it's national chocolate chip cookie day. always the fear a robot will take over your job. now a company in san francisco has created a bot with a real human touch. eric chemi explains. >> so cute, got a picture? nicole, you're beautiful, are you single? i love you, jen.

a dating app, but they are actually real e-mails people have sent to sales reps at places like car dealerships, insurance companies, and education firms. the problem, the sales rep is not human. they are actually artificial intelligence bots offered by a.i. company. >> she has a name. she has a title, e-mail address, a phone number. and she reads and writes e-mails. >> alex terry is the ceo of the company. >> what we tend to find is female names outperform male names in general, not always, but in general. >> the most popular names for the bots are jenny, ashley, and jessica. jeff has visited development in curry toyota in watertown, connecticut, where they use the technology for a bot named holly. >> she will respond right after an opportunity comes in. no vacations, no days off. she's going. >> she's probably your hardest worker, right? >> that may cause an argument if i answer that loud

she works pretty hard. >> he says all that work costs much less than a full-time employee. getting your own bot starts at just $3,000 per month, and usually brings in a double-digit return on investment. is there ever a situation where we've heard this at other places, for example, competitors want to hire her away. >> they can't ever. she's ours. she's not going anywhere. >> making the bot seem lifelike is what they strive for. >> the personality of the assistant is very friendly, very conversational. we even make grammar mistakes on purpose. >> that helpfulness means customers sometimes want to meet holly. >> every once in a while you'll have someone come in and say i just spoke with her, you know, you can't tell me she's not here. i just got off the phone with her. >> just to be clear, these bots never talk to anyone on the phone, the numbers are for text messages but because the technology is so good, the bots e-mails get more responses than those from humans and they'll keep following up for months

needed until a sale is made. >> are the bots taking over the municip human jobs at these companies? >> bots do a good job of generating leads and they can hire more sales staff because they can sell more cars or insurance because the bots do the menial work and bring in more revenue. >> i was just thinking this, too, i'm sure i've had conversations with some of these bots now that you mention it. >> now that you know about it, it is creepy to go back and think have i been communicating with. >> hey, how are you doing, ashley? >> exactly. >> silly me. anyway, eric, thanks very much. that is the show today, i'm becky quick. thank you so much for joining us. next week, money lessons that college kids should learn before they get to school. each week keep it right here, we're "on the money."

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and to all who seek their true potential, we say, let's get it, america. good morning, america. new overnight, applying the pressure. the u.s. taking to the skies with allies. following north korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch. president trump expressing his disappointment with china as well as republicans struggling with health care reform. what he wants them to do next. terror plot. the plan targeting the skies. >> there has been a major joint counterterrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an airplane. >> four men arrested in australia. believed to be inspired by radical islam. airports are now beefing up security. vacations ruined