Lease-purchase programs are not all evil. Some drivers come out the other side owning a truck. But far more come out the other side owning nothing except a hard lesson, and the difference usually comes down to what was in the fine print they never read. So let us read it together.

Picture this: You're behind the wheel at 4 a.m., the highway empty ahead of you, the hum of your engine steady and familiar. The smell of diesel in the air, a thermos of coffee on the dash, the yellow lines disappearing under your headlights one after another. You chose this. You own this. That sense of ownership, of running your business on your terms, is exactly what the Department of Labor's proposed rule change is designed to protect. Here's the short version: The DOL is