The biggest problem with company towns was that they paid employees in company scrip instead of money. IIRC, that's illegal now under modern labor laws. The se

The biggest problem with company towns was that they paid employees in company scrip instead of money. IIRC, that's illegal now under modern labor laws. The second biggest problem was that companies used their company towns to force their social agendas on their employees. George Pullman would spy on employees' homes and firevict anyone living a lifestyle he didn't approve of. Tenant protections and anti-discrimination laws can take care of that (but we do need to strengthen our laws first... they're not quite there yet).