> Would you prefer it if instead workers were paid in equity, and needed to use the public markets if they want to convert equity to cash?
No, I would not.
> The difference between this scenario and the current status quo is only $8/trade and a few mouse clicks,
No, it is not. Again, not all companies are publicly owned.
> so I'd love to hear why you think this distinction matters.
Cash does not equal control. Equity equals control. Seriously, we're on Hacker News: how much discussion goes into equity splits between founders? Why do you never give your initial employees very much equity? Why do we discuss term sheets so much?
You're being silly, you comment here way too much not to know this.
(oh, and for an answer: I prefer that the workers are paid however the workers want to be paid. For me, personally, cash as well as an equity stake of some kind. As one real-life example, please see http://www.redandblackcafe.com/the-red-black-cafe-is-hiring/ which lays out one possible situation and has been going for the last 12 years. Also, of course, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation which has 14b euro in revenue and employs 84,000 people.)
No, I would not.
> The difference between this scenario and the current status quo is only $8/trade and a few mouse clicks,
No, it is not. Again, not all companies are publicly owned.
> so I'd love to hear why you think this distinction matters.
Cash does not equal control. Equity equals control. Seriously, we're on Hacker News: how much discussion goes into equity splits between founders? Why do you never give your initial employees very much equity? Why do we discuss term sheets so much?
You're being silly, you comment here way too much not to know this.
(oh, and for an answer: I prefer that the workers are paid however the workers want to be paid. For me, personally, cash as well as an equity stake of some kind. As one real-life example, please see http://www.redandblackcafe.com/the-red-black-cafe-is-hiring/ which lays out one possible situation and has been going for the last 12 years. Also, of course, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation which has 14b euro in revenue and employs 84,000 people.)