Mike, the "good answer" is the way it is universally done in the industry....skilled personnel arrive at the job with their own tools. Farming has not traditionally done it this way, but virtually every other industry does. Even the military assigns tools to the specialists who use them, who has to sing for what he is assigned . The reason is quite simple.....the person who owns and uses and controls the tools will keep track of them and he will have them when needed. We've done the "community tools" thing for twenty five years and it is quite simply a world class cluster flub....and this is with the main users being the actual owners of the "community tools." I think my brothers and I are all reasonably intelligent and trustworthy people, and those we have employed are as well, but is just simply does not work beyond one or maybe two people. I spent years as the third person being blamed for "loosing" or "leaving out" everything. I now have my own tools in my field truck. I get pretty cranky when I see someone else with them who didn't specifically asked for them, surprise of surprises, when we're in the field, I'm the one who actually has tools. I think it's more then a coincidence that I was the third person added into the equation. Sometimes when you look around the world and virtually everyone is doing something a particular way, you need to stop and consider that maybe they are right.

edit:  I didn't really address who pays for the tools the ee has control of and responsibility for.  I don't see that it makes a large amount of difference.  A mechanic normally supplies his own tools.  A general laborer does not.   There is a significant difference in pay rate between the two positions, I guess you have to decide which type of position you aspire to hold.