Incentive problem is technically the same in the U.S. You might think there's ownership conferred by taking risks and such to the individual worker, but it is much more akin to the feudal sharecropping arrangement. You are delegated a body of work by your liege when they are pleased, but the moment you fall out of favor or become inconvenient, poof. The real answer to the ownership question manifests. It was never yours in the first place. You just sold your blood, sweat, and tears to enable someone else to thrive in the long run while you get tossed aside at the first sign of difficulty.