It started with CVS and Walgreans buying most independent pharmacies. Then private drs offices & funeral homes. The owners are kept on at higher saleries than they made without all the managment / bookkeeping and private ownership risk. If they owned the building they got to collect rent as a bonus. The deals were too good to turn down. You can add private garbage collection to this list. Waste Management bought almost all of them and more than doubled the charges.