Re: EOpriv: Response to Dave Wheatcroft

[Dan Bell <dbell@kent.edu>]

Dave,

Thanks for your well-expressed comments. I agree
whole-heartedly with you that, where traditionally
public services are involved, privatization is
rarely in the employees' interest. Labor representatives
rightly oppose it.

Receiving a just wage for providing a worthy service
to the public, which would otherwise be watered down
or cancelled for empoverished beneficiaries, is a
valid reason to oppose privatization.

This would be the more typical privatization situation
in countries like the UK.

Looking at the former Soviet Union and its satellites,
many traditionally commercial activities, which should
depend on consumer demand, are being privatized. In
these cases, the state is and perhaps should be no
different from any other owner who has to determine
whether the consumers are willing to pay a price that
sustains a just wage and fair return. The question, then,
is not whether investments in non-valued production
should be redirected into production valued by consumers,
but WHEN and HOW this transition should take place.

The community has, in my opinion, a moral obligation
to sustain those members who have fallen on hard times,
but such charity is more effective through direct
support, rather than the subsidizing of unneeded
production.

Employees, and their representatives, of such activities
should accept the inevitable and work in a constructive
way with the state to develop a future economic activity
which can sustain just wages. Sometimes, redesigning
the operation of the existing enterprise (improved
quality and reduced costs) can bring its products back
into demand -- employee ownership can make a big
difference here. Sometimes, additional training and
job search assistance is the only realistic avenue.

But NEVER should the state simply wash its hands of
the fate of a group of employees by simply transferring
the ownership of the assets to them in lieu of a
well thought out economic development plan which
might be more costly to the taxpayers.


--
Dan Bell
International Program Coordinator
Ohio Employee Ownership Center
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242
(330) 672-0333 << New direct number!
(330) 672-4063 fax
dbell@kent.edu
http://www.kent.edu/oeoc/
http://cog.kent.edu