Thanks Dave, I appreciate that (again). I can definitely identify with the sentiment there of being in a less-than-ideal position, but feeling lucky to not be worse off.

I'm also with you on the UBI thing, I think if it was done right that could be a huge benefit to society.

I obviously don't know your situation, but if I may take your grocery store example and run with it for a minute: imagine that you were a person in that position who not only didn't want the management job, but *couldn't* take it, perhaps for reasons of mental health. Should that person not still be able to live a comfortable life?

I would point out a couple of things: worker co-ops don't necessarily require a totally flat wage structure, or a total lack of hierarchy. It could even be that the workers decide they don't want to be involved in every decision, and they would rather put some person or committee or whatever in charge of certain things. The main point is that there should be democracy in the workplace, as in other areas of society. Of course, if they're too hands-off we end up back where we are now, but like I said before, not every decision has to be a meeting. The goal is to give workers a better share of the profits their labor earns, and to make the business accountable to them and the greater society, as opposed to a few shareholders. Caps on executive pay are common features of co-ops, and I think they're a good idea for sure, but it doesn't have to be a flat structure. It just has to make sure that everyone can live a decent life, and that no small group or single person holds all of the power.

This kind of leads to the other point I would make, which is that I'm not so much saying that the government should set wages, but that we should build a system where they don't have to. From where we are, it seems likely that this would have to begin with a New Deal-style major tax hike on the mega-wealthy, and I don't have all the answers for how we get from that to a society truly run by the people. However, in our current system, corporations are essentially totalitarian mini-fiefdoms, and the amount of power they hold undermines democracy as a whole. The way our system works means that keeping that power in check is a constant struggle, and one that the people tend to lose. There is never a perfect solution when dealing with humans, but co-ops seem like a good way to make the economy more democratic.