Ward of the Corporation

A few years ago, I had an idea for a story I’ve never written. The story I envisioned would take place near the end of this century, following a catastrophic world-wide economic depression.  Jobs would be in very short supply in the U.S. and huge numbers of people would lose their homes. Homelessness would be rampant. Large corporations would take advantage of the dire circumstances in which people found themselves by offering jobs, with housing. The trade-off for job-seekers would be the pay; laws allowing meager pay scales had been passed in a dubious effort to jump-start the economy. Gradually, corporations convince legislators to allow companies to be named guardians of their impoverished employees. Corporations would gain control over not only the workplace, but their employees’ homes, their activities, everything.  Once named “wards of the corporation,” employees would not be able to change employers. Employees would become, in essence, slaves. I’ve not written this dystopian blockbuster yet.