There's really not an alternative to this problem. Private equity is gobbling up these practices because there is no one else who is going to take them over. O

There's really not an alternative to this problem. Private equity is gobbling up these practices because there is no one else who is going to take them over. Owners are retiring at an astonishing rate. But young professionals don't have the money to buy up the practices, that is assuming any business acumen they might have had would not have been weeded out by schooling. And even if they did - there's no reason to buy an established practice off of a retiring owner when you can just grow your own (granted there is a buyer for you at the end of it). There's also the tax aspect. Even if you wanted to gift your business to your family/employees, you would be immediately loading them with a massive tax burden for an asset they don't immediately get to benefit from. (Linus of LTT fame actually does a good job describing this problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faa-b2uq0gA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Faa-b2uq0gA) The same thing is happening everywhere - family medical, law firms, mechanics, and even farms.