We used to be a nation of owners. Not anymore.
In 1820, roughly 80 percent of Americans worked for themselves. Farmers, shopkeepers, and craftsmen—people owned what they built.
Today, most of us work for someone else. We may think that’s normal, but it’s not.
Ownership is disappearing. Slowly, quietly, it’s being taken while we aren’t paying attention. And as it goes, so does our freedom, wealth, and control over our communities.
If you walk down any street in America, you’ll see this in real time. That corner store? Likely owned by a big corporation. The neighborhood coffee shop? Replaced by a chain. The family auto repair shop? Bought out or shut down.
In 2000, private equity firms owned just 4 percent of U.S. companies. Today, they own 20 percent. One in five businesses are run by Wall Street suits who’ve never worked a day on Main Street.
Even local businesses aren’t local anymore. One-third …