Excellent synopsis of the state of affairs. Interesting times. I hope some progressive leaders emerge that can provide a coherent positive vision of the future, as you said, as an alternative to right-wing version of economic populism.
Regarding ESOPs, which I think are a great libertarian solution to improving worker compensation, are you aware of any studies which compare productivity increases in them to more traditionally structured labor/management arrangements? It seems logical to me that when workers have a financial investment in the company they work for that they have strong motivation to increase its productivity.
Yes June those studies do exist, but I cannot cite you chapter and verse. And I imagine there is some variation by industry, individual businesses, etc. The go-to institute for this kind of research is the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers Univ. Here is a link to their research page, https://smlr.rutgers.edu/faculty-research-engagement. I have attended one of their annual conferences, which happen every January, and it is filled with hundreds of academics/researchers who are researching questions just like the one you are asking. So there is a lot of research out there, mostly viewed by a relatively small group of practitioners, and I wish more of the public was aware of it.
BTW Louis Kelso, the architect of the ESOP, was kind of a little 'l' libertarian. So the DNA of his work was suffused with his personal convictions about limited government, what it could/should and could/should not to do. He was a fascinating man in his own way, a child of the Great Depression where he grew up in Colorado, who then became a corporate finance attorney and moved to San Francisco, wrote a bestselling book "The Capitalist Manifesto" which became the blueprint for his ideas about how to enact "universal capitalism" in which every American would be an owner of the economy. From that overall philosophy came ESOPs, CSOPs, GSOPs, etc.
Hey there is nothing wrong with being a "little l" libertarian these day considering the takeover of the Libertatian Party by the Mises caucus these past few years. Since I'm a Life Member I guess I can claim to be both although I currently don't contribute to the party or help it any way other than to advocate the philosophy.
As for reaching people I think the best exposure might have been the 60 minutes story about a company that took over another one (raided?) and instituted an employee participation plan as part of their strategy to increase the value of the company before they in turn sold it which was their intent in buying it in the first place. The employees made out VERY well as a result. I've always been fond of co-ops for similar reason but ESOP seems to be the ideal corporate version. Co-ops only work well small scale.
Regarding 60 Minutes, are you referring to the episode in which Mike Wallace interviewed Louis Kelso? If so, here is the link, it is still fascinating to watch, so many years later. And still VERY relevant to our times and our current economic dilemmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUf51M9D6sw
Unfortunately I don't remember but that was proabably it. Also unfortunately I am not always very good at remembering who should get credit for things as opposed to what deserves credit. Again, thanks for the link. If I wasn't a libertarian I might suggest that all CEOs be forced to watch it. :)
As a total aside, I will be volunteering to work at FreedomFest this year (can't afford to buy my way in) since it is close enough for me to commute to (Palm Springs). Part of the program every year is a filmfest of liberty oriented films. I'm going to check if they have ever included that video as part of it or might in the future.
Just checked the video and realized that it is not the segment I was thinking of. The one I'm thinking of was much more recent and focused on a company that specializes in takeovers and how ESOP (although I don't recall hearing that term) was part and parcel of their stategy for increasing value for resale. I'll have to see if some googling can help me find it.
Excellent synopsis of the state of affairs. Interesting times. I hope some progressive leaders emerge that can provide a coherent positive vision of the future, as you said, as an alternative to right-wing version of economic populism.
Regarding ESOPs, which I think are a great libertarian solution to improving worker compensation, are you aware of any studies which compare productivity increases in them to more traditionally structured labor/management arrangements? It seems logical to me that when workers have a financial investment in the company they work for that they have strong motivation to increase its productivity.
Yes June those studies do exist, but I cannot cite you chapter and verse. And I imagine there is some variation by industry, individual businesses, etc. The go-to institute for this kind of research is the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers Univ. Here is a link to their research page, https://smlr.rutgers.edu/faculty-research-engagement. I have attended one of their annual conferences, which happen every January, and it is filled with hundreds of academics/researchers who are researching questions just like the one you are asking. So there is a lot of research out there, mostly viewed by a relatively small group of practitioners, and I wish more of the public was aware of it.
BTW Louis Kelso, the architect of the ESOP, was kind of a little 'l' libertarian. So the DNA of his work was suffused with his personal convictions about limited government, what it could/should and could/should not to do. He was a fascinating man in his own way, a child of the Great Depression where he grew up in Colorado, who then became a corporate finance attorney and moved to San Francisco, wrote a bestselling book "The Capitalist Manifesto" which became the blueprint for his ideas about how to enact "universal capitalism" in which every American would be an owner of the economy. From that overall philosophy came ESOPs, CSOPs, GSOPs, etc.
Hey there is nothing wrong with being a "little l" libertarian these day considering the takeover of the Libertatian Party by the Mises caucus these past few years. Since I'm a Life Member I guess I can claim to be both although I currently don't contribute to the party or help it any way other than to advocate the philosophy.
As for reaching people I think the best exposure might have been the 60 minutes story about a company that took over another one (raided?) and instituted an employee participation plan as part of their strategy to increase the value of the company before they in turn sold it which was their intent in buying it in the first place. The employees made out VERY well as a result. I've always been fond of co-ops for similar reason but ESOP seems to be the ideal corporate version. Co-ops only work well small scale.
Thanks for the link.
Regarding 60 Minutes, are you referring to the episode in which Mike Wallace interviewed Louis Kelso? If so, here is the link, it is still fascinating to watch, so many years later. And still VERY relevant to our times and our current economic dilemmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUf51M9D6sw
Unfortunately I don't remember but that was proabably it. Also unfortunately I am not always very good at remembering who should get credit for things as opposed to what deserves credit. Again, thanks for the link. If I wasn't a libertarian I might suggest that all CEOs be forced to watch it. :)
As a total aside, I will be volunteering to work at FreedomFest this year (can't afford to buy my way in) since it is close enough for me to commute to (Palm Springs). Part of the program every year is a filmfest of liberty oriented films. I'm going to check if they have ever included that video as part of it or might in the future.
Just checked the video and realized that it is not the segment I was thinking of. The one I'm thinking of was much more recent and focused on a company that specializes in takeovers and how ESOP (although I don't recall hearing that term) was part and parcel of their stategy for increasing value for resale. I'll have to see if some googling can help me find it.
Found it. May be available somewhere else without ads.
https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/eRK4PHrNw96dDJc5WiZYo0b0Wh8A5eXH/?ftag=CNM-00-10abb6c
They may want to stop being so violent
PS - A decent written recitation on The American Political Party of Violence https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/the-american-political-party-of-violence