One response to the widely documented decline in labor's
share in total income that has occurred in virtually all developed
"western-style" economies is increased interest in forms of employee
ownership by way of employee stock ownership plans, worker cooperatives, and
other approaches to broadening employee ownership. Yet, although “as “American
as apple pie,” the “ownership solution” remains largely at the margin of
mainstream of political and economic discourse. As our high tech economy moves
ever closer to the age of the robots, many on the left and some on the right
have advocated a guaranteed minimum income or a guaranteed jobs program. This
panel will explore advantages and disadvantages of the employee and broader
ownership solution as well as impediments to its broader implementation based
on socio-economic principles.