| Moapa Valley Progress Submitted May 21, 2008 Logandale resident, Bob Smiley, travelled to Washington and met with Congressman Jon Porter on May 14 to garner his support for employee ownership in America. Smiley is the Chairman of the Benefit Capital Companies and is the co-founder of the ESOP Association, headquartered in Washington D.C. With over 2500 members, this organization is the advocacy group for employee ownership plans. Smiley was particularly interested in voicing support to Porter for a pending House |
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| of Representatives Resolution expressing Congressional support for employee stock ownership plans (ESOPS). These plans allow for employees to receive, as a benefit, stock in the companies for which they work. ESOPS serve the dual purpose of providing retirement savings and stock ownership for employees, as well as being a financing technique for corporations “Research has consistently shown that employee owned companies are high performing, have better sales, and provide more retirement savings compared to their non-ESOP counterparts,” Smiley said.
According to Smiley, the pending legislation is a proactive move to protect the effectiveness of ESOPs by having an official statement of Congressional support. Smiley said that his meeting with Porter was constructive and positive. “The Congressman said that he would take a close look at the legislation and would consider it carefully,” Smiley said. Smiley is also the Managing Editor and an author of the recently published and leading reference work on employee ownership entitled Employee Stock Ownership Plans: ESOP Planning, Financing, Implementation, Law and Taxation, and is published by The Beyster Institute, Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego. The book can be reviewed at www.esopbook.org. |
