In March 1973, the provincial governor earmarked a sum of $83 million in modern U.S. dollars for the project.30 He chose Dauphin, a small town of 13,000 northwest of Winnipeg, as the location of the experiment. Everybody in Dauphin was guaranteed a basic income, ensuring that no one fell below the poverty line. In practice, this meant 30% of the town’s inhabitants–1,000 families in all–got a check in the mail each month. A family of four received what would now be around $19,000 a year, no questions asked.
