Many of you will remember from your history lessons that when the Ford Motor Company first developed the production line, Henry Ford repeatedly increased the wages of his employees, while also dropping the prices of his cars. How did we get from that caring business approach a hundred years ago to the corporate greed we have today?
The Dodge Brothers Take Henry Ford to Court
Ford Motor Company was one of the first, large-scale benefit companies in the United States, but few people know that its benevolent business model was destroyed by a very important court case. Most people aren’t aware that the concept of “shareholder primacy” became law in a 1919 lawsuit brought by John and Horace Dodge against the Ford Motor Company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co
Benefit Companies Make a Comeback
Today, most people begrudgingly know that corporations have a legal requirement to put stockholders first. Every time you buy a product from a corporation, a percentage of what you pay goes to stockholders. Today, the ideal that Henry Ford strove for a century ago has seen a resurgence, and 35 states in the Union have laws supporting the concept of the benefit company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefit_corporation
Supporting Benefit Companies
My Property ID Registry wants to be of benefit to the communities we serve. Because we have no stockholders or investors, our goal is to plow as much profit as possible into supporting crime-prevention strategies. Every time you “invest” in our company by purchasing a security system, you are not only helping yourself, but you are supporting the benefits we provide to the communities that more broadly support our strategy.
- We offer free and reduced security systems to those in need
- We provide free warning signs to departments of public works to be placed in neighborhoods
- We build dedicated, turnkey websites for neighborhood associations
- We have a profit-sharing strategy that returns funds to communities
