Employee ownership empowers workers to have greater freedom over their economic future and provides them with a greater return on their hard work. By giving workers a stake in the business, workers in employee-owned firms become more invested in the business’s success, which in turn helps drive productivity, innovation, and profitability. In this conversation, speakers highlight the benefits of employee ownership and the experiences and important contributions of employee-owned businesses to workers and the US economy. This discussion features special remarks from the Honorable Ben Cardin (US Senator for the State of Maryland) and the Honorable Chrissy Houlahan (US Representative for the State of Pennsylvania). It begins with opening remarks from Maureen Conway (Vice President, The Aspen Institute; Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program), Joseph Blasi (J. Robert Beyster Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University; Director, Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing), and Elliot Gerson (Executive Vice President, The Aspen Institute). We conclude with a panel discussion featuring Joseph Blasi, Heather Braimbridge-Cox (President and CEO, Windings, Inc.), Jen Briggs (Founding Partner, GRITT Business Coaching; Member, Colorado Employee Ownership Commission), Alex Brill (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute), and moderator Zach Warmbrodt (Financial Services Editor, Politico). For more information about this event — including video, audio, transcript, speaker bios, and additional resources — visit: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/growing-economic-freedom-and-prosperity-the-case-for-employee-ownership/ This discussion was held on June 14, 2023, as part of the Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, co-hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers University. This two-day convening brought together leading policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the media for a robust discussion on how we can grow employee ownership for the shared benefit of American workers and businesses. Learn more: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/employee-ownership-ideas-forum/