My State should support socialized businesses
I previously wrote How to start socializing businesses, and am now writing this letter to submit to my local paper as a Letter to the Editor. Perhaps I'll forward it to my state reps as well.
My paper only allows 300 words, so the letter has been heavily revised to fit under this word count.
This letter is dedicated to the public domain. You may republish it as you see fit and even may take credit for it, though attribution is appreciated.
The State of [redacted] should formally support incorporation of socialized businesses, which could be worker owned or community owned. We allow for incorporation as LLC, Not-For-Profit, or several other corporate structures.
Every corporation has Bylaws defining their governance, and those can already dictate worker-ownership. But the state should formally support this kind of structure, in order to promote democratically owned businesses.
These would still compete on the market, and the state would not take over any businesses; instead this would create more freedom by supporting another way for people to enter the market. These businesses could succeed or fail, depending on how well they compete.
If you hate your boss for how you're treated, or for low wages you receive, or poor health care benefits, or terrible hours, then you might be interested. If you prefer a rich owner who does little of the actual work, this isn't for you. Which is fine, you could still form or support privately owned businesses.
And yes, you would still have managers. Somebody needs to manage tasks and set schedules and make day-to-day decisions. But the workers would elect or fire those managers if they were freeloading, abusing staff, or failing the company.
We already guarantee a right to unionization, which grants workers more power in bargaining for your share of the value you create. Let's take it one step further and enshrine workers' rights to own and govern businesses you serve.
If you believe private ownership is a better structure and will be more successful - let us have more democratic ownership and actually test your theory. If socialized businesses are a terrible idea, the market will prove it. Let's find out.