Sunday, March 1, 2009

Public Enterprise

Nationalization! What are you kidding? That is bad. What we should have is Public Enterprise. That sound much more business like. We hear about Nationalization all the time. Conservatives are crying that we are going to have European Socialism in America.And we should. Why carry on a Culture of ignorance and dystopia of Conservativism,When we can have the enlightenment of European Leftism.The conservative’s cry-Obama is spending money. Excuse me, last time I checked Government has an overhead. And that has to be paid for.Conservatives cry Government should act as a business. Well, it can and should.Nationalizing-ooops, I mean Public Enterprise is the way to go. Let’s look at privatization first. It has been a real cheat. When Governor Christie Todd Whitman privatized most of New Jersey’s public entities, citing they cost the state millions, our property taxes went up and now we pay the highest taxes in the Nation.Nationali---ooops, I mean Public Enterprise can be this:
Business organizations wholly or partly owned by the state and controlled through a public authority by Democratic Means. Some public enterprises are placed under public ownership because, for social reasons, it is thought the service or product should be provided by a Co-operative or ESOP. The Banks, Oil Companies, other Fortune 500 Companies.
Examples of this kind of public enterprise.
An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is an employee benefit plan which makes the employees of a company owners of stock in that company. Several features make ESOPs unique as compared to other employee benefit plans. First, only an ESOP is required by law to invest primarily in the securities of the sponsoring employer. Second, an ESOP is unique among qualified employee benefit plans in its ability to borrow money. As a result, "leveraged ESOPs" may be used as a technique of corporate finance.
Employee ownership appears to increase production and profitability, and improve employees' dedication and sense of ownership. However, democratic leadership must be protected from predator companies, and employee stock ownership can increase financial risk if the company does poorly. Notable employee-owned corporations include the John Lewis Partnership retailers in the UK, and the US news/entertainment firm Tribune Company. The most honored multi-national corporation based wholly on worker-ownership principles is the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation . Unlike the US, however, Spanish law requires that members of the Mondragon Corporation are registered as self-employed. This differentiates co-operative ownership (in which self-employed owner-members each have one voting share, or shares are controlled by a co-operative legal entity) from employee-ownership (where ownership is typically held as a block of shares on behalf of employees using a Employee Benefit Trust, or company rules embed mechanisms for distributing shares to employees and ensuring they remain majority shareholders)Entities proven to work, means profitability for the Company and its employees, and the Government.Let’s make Citibank a Public Enterprise. Lets say it makes $36,000,000,000 a year.Each lower level employees makes a living wage, working 32 hours. The Executive pay scale is reduced to more reasonable income and the Executives makes no more ( salary cap) the 7% to 10% more than the average employee.The Government owns a share and is the major investor at times. In which it takes back a portion of the profits the way a loan works to some degree. This allows the Government to have an income and reduce taxes on workers and communities. And even the Nation.See, conservatives this is Government acting as a business. The Government sets regulations, and receives an income/profit. This contributes to the national wealth.Also to keep government in check, and Citibank in check, A Department of Advocacy is created to assist with efficiency, labor issues, and keeping the government regulations in order. (Actually, outside of regulations, the government should be a silent partner.) So, with the Government getting a share of profits from the Public Enterprise, this should replenish national wealth, and there would be money for highways, Communities, schools, health Care, a universal Income, and more.Where it wouldn’t go? Not to executives who purchase seven homes with seven indoor pools. Exotic vacation welfare. Free stuff from the Government paying corporate welfare and supporting greedy industrial complexes that cost the tax payer billions.We would have a incredible surplus and enough for social programs and livable communities and abolishing poverty and that conservative dystopia.Remember-Nationalization-ooops, Public Enterprise is the Future!
Dedicated to Rob W Tucker