This will probably get lost but it took me a moment to think about it. Its not just PE eating the U.S. economy. It is also U.S. consumers eating the economy.
Consumers are a complete PITA these days. Hard to manage, tons of complaints, looking for the cheapest X. I say this because while I agree there are a lot of movements in the past 2 decades on PE and other investments swallowing up shops, its not always as clear that its the big bad finance guys ruining America. We have small-medium business owners aging out, in a lot of cases no clear succession to the business line and they sell out. It can be a real pain these days to run a business, you not only have to offer the best service, the best product but have to do so at the best price while also managing your PR to identify any attacks that may hurt your business. I can see why people sell out given the opportunity.
Consumers are a complete PITA these days. Hard to manage, tons of complaints, looking for the cheapest X. I say this because while I agree there are a lot of movements in the past 2 decades on PE and other investments swallowing up shops, its not always as clear that its the big bad finance guys ruining America. We have small-medium business owners aging out, in a lot of cases no clear succession to the business line and they sell out. It can be a real pain these days to run a business, you not only have to offer the best service, the best product but have to do so at the best price while also managing your PR to identify any attacks that may hurt your business. I can see why people sell out given the opportunity.