"separating the value from the risk" is euphemism for removing all financial cushion and making sure the pain of any downturn is borne only by employees and customers, or it could even mean purposefully killing off what is considered to be a worthless business and an inefficient use of assets. It's usually done by monstrous new owners who have zero care for the people or community or legacy that they destroy. Their view of the world is only through maximizing financial calculations.
Progressives' general anti-business bias blinds them to the need to protect small to medium businesses from the true capitalist evils such as vulture capitalists. Things like rent control could be useful tools for protecting communities from the devastation that can be caused by financial engineering preying on real businesses.
I agree that businesses that have unproductive assets become targets for PE takeover. Typically these are small businesses that have kept their assets and business together, without separating them. At some point the value of the asset exceeds the value of the business and it becomes ripe to be bought out, sold for parts, and closed.
Thus keeping them bound together makes things worse for employees and customers, not better.
Separating them makes it worse for creditors. Specifically creditors are less likely to institute bankruptcy if there are no juicy assets to liquidate. Most small businesses can survive a cash squeeze, at least for a short while, as long as creditors don't preemptively move to shut it down.
Equally, business owners are less tempted to over-extend if there is less "equity in the business". Obviously they can still borrow against the asset, but that's then a conscious decision.
Of course large companies know all this, and do it. Yhe way to protect small businesses from predatory buyouts or creditors is to educate small business owners.
Progressives' general anti-business bias blinds them to the need to protect small to medium businesses from the true capitalist evils such as vulture capitalists. Things like rent control could be useful tools for protecting communities from the devastation that can be caused by financial engineering preying on real businesses.