It is becoming increasingly obvious to people that profit maximization has very little to do with meeting actual human or ecological needs. According to the Economic Policy Institute and other researchers, corporate profits and worker productivity rise independently of workers' real wages. And increases in corporate profit are more likely to enrich shareholders than to be reinvested in new jobs with good wages. We need better ways of doing business.
Fortunately, there are thousands of profitable businesses that are structurally aligned to take into account the actual needs of workers, and as such, the broader community. In these businesses, workers are the democratic owners of the business. They don't offshore their own jobs, they don't siphon dividends away from their own productivity and they are still provided incentives to maintain a profitable business. For that reason, I agree with The Sun's recent commentary supporting the Maryland Employee Ownership Act ( Jan. 2). It's a step in the right direction.
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