Indeed, understanding how financial power shapes our society doesn’t stop with the Prison Industrial Complex; it extends into almost every facet of our daily lives. We now focus on private equity’s growing influence in fast food, affordable housing, and healthcare is astute, as these are areas where the impact on ordinary citizens is profoundly felt, reflecting a broader trend of market concentration and the shift of power from workers to financial interests. This isn’t just about economic shifts; it’s about the very quality of life for millions, and the sources reveal a truth that can be stark.
When we talk about an “unprecedented corporate assault” or the “plutocratic winds blowing across the global landscape”, we’re seeing the tangible effects in these essential sectors. The notion that you, the individual, have little power and are “nothing but a consumer” is a narrative often sold by those who benefit most from this concentrated power.
Let’s delve into these critical areas:
The Ruthless Takeover of Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities, often referred to as mobile home parks, are more than just places to live for many Americans; they are, in fact, “the last oasis of affordable housing” and frequently serve as the “last line of defense against homelessness”. Yet, over the last decade, these vital communities have become prime targets for a new kind of landlord: private equity firms.
The consequences for residents have been devastatingly clear. For instance, one resident shared how her monthly rent and associated fees jumped by 50% after her community was acquired by a private equity firm, forcing her to rely on food banks despite having worked for 45 years. The “American dream” for many in these communities has dissolved into a daily struggle for “survival”. This isn’t an isolated incident; between 2020 and 2021 alone, institutional investors accounted for nearly a quarter of all manufactured home purchases in the U.S.. Today, a mere 12 private equity firms collectively own at least 1,200 parks nationwide. This trend, as one source plainly states, is about identifying “who has the fewest choices and then squeeze them”.
Moreover, the quality of living often deteriorates under these new owners. Residents have reported that amenities like swimming pools or community centers are removed, yet they continue to pay the same fees as if these services were still available. In some instances, private equity firms have faced criminal charges for severe neglect, such as operating parks without a license due to unresolved water problems, like one affiliate of Alden Global Capital. The distressing truth is that residents often find themselves with “no power…in the existing legal structure” to combat rising rents or exploitative fees, leaving private equity “free to abuse residents in pretty much every way they want”. This struggle in manufactured housing communities is not just about a niche market; it’s “ground zero in a fight that affects all of us”, revealing how algorithms are also being used to centralize control and allegedly fix prices, creating a “housing cartel” that faces numerous lawsuits.
Private Equity’s Grip on Fast Food and Franchises
The reach of private equity extends far beyond housing, deeply embedding itself into the fabric of the low-wage labor market, including the fast food and broader franchise industries. One prominent example is the private equity firm Roark, which explicitly focuses on low-wage work because it’s precisely “how they can extract the most value”.
This firm, which began with franchisable hotel chains, has aggressively expanded its portfolio to include businesses in food, auto repair, exercise, and even private education, operating chains like Primrose Schools. While these schools are independently owned by franchisees, parents often “have no idea what their kids are being subjected to,” with reports of children being “forced to pray before getting fed”.
A common thread binding all of Roark’s brands is a consistent pattern of “incredibly low wages and other worker mistreatment”. Crucially, Roark maintains “no union presence at any of its companies,” making it exceedingly difficult for workers to organize and collectively improve their conditions. This reflects a broader dynamic where small businesses and franchisees find themselves “squeezed by monopolies” and “trapped in contracts that siphon off most of their profits,” highlighting a systemic imbalance of power. The industry’s main trade group, the International Franchise Association, even dedicates a significant portion of its advocacy to the “Joint Employer” issue, which determines who is truly responsible for the rights and well-being of a franchise employee.
The Acquisition of Healthcare
The healthcare sector, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the U.S. economy, is another industry where the influence of large corporations and private equity is not just prevalent but actively reshaping access, quality, and cost. You might recall how John Kenneth Galbraith highlighted that healthcare, like housing, often reveals “inadequacy” in the competitive entrepreneurial sector, prompting governments to “compensate for the inadequacies of private enterprise”. However, the current landscape illustrates a deepening of these issues through aggressive consolidation.
One major player in this space is United Healthcare, now the largest employer of physicians in America, utilizing a strategy called “vertical integration”. This means they aim to get “a cut of every single step of the healthcare process”. For instance, their Optum subsidiary has a service that effectively offers “Capital loans” (formerly “Optum Pay Advance”) to struggling healthcare providers. This system profits from the delays and denials of insurance claims; when providers face financial distress waiting for insurer payouts, United’s Optum steps in with loans or acquires them outright for a fraction of their value.
The financial gains from this strategy are staggering: United Healthcare’s valuation soared from around $35 billion in 2010 to over $450 billion today. In 2022 alone, seven major insurers, including United Healthcare, generated nearly $70 billion in profit, with a substantial $26 billion being spent on stock buybacks to enrich shareholders.
Beyond the financial manipulation, there’s a troubling pattern of ethical compromises. United Health Group faced charges for manipulating reimbursement rates through its own research firm, Ingenix (later rebranded as Optum Insight), which served to lower what they paid practices or to kick them out of network, forcing them into financial distress ripe for acquisition. Further, the CEO of United Healthcare, Andrew Witty, previously headed GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company that paid $3 billion for fraud, including bribing doctors and promoting “unsuitable antidepressants to children”.
The narrative presented by companies like United Healthcare, framing their growth as beneficial, clashes starkly with the reality of “relentless rationing of healthcare”. This vertical integration allows them to bypass traditional antitrust scrutiny, which typically focuses on horizontal mergers within the same market. Meanwhile, the “insane” prices for healthcare and the reliance on GoFundMe campaigns for basic medicine underscore a system that seems detached from rational cost or care. Other nations, like the UK, also see pharmaceutical companies and medical professors pushing for new health industries built on patient data and AI, with a significant portion of research and development funding expected from industry. Even there, there are concerns about data being cynically sold off by governments to their “friends in the drug companies”.
These examples in affordable housing, fast food, and healthcare illustrate a clear pattern: a concerted effort by financial interests to consolidate power and extract maximum value, often at the expense of ordinary people’s well-being and access to essential services. This echoes the broader themes of concentrated wealth and political influence we’ve discussed, where the focus shifts from public good to private profit, obscuring the mechanisms that allow these “goliaths” to operate.