Like I’m not even an expert but I coulda told you that nature already knows what to do with the leaves (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/to-rake-or-not-to-rake-expert-tips-for-eco-friendly-autumnal-lawn-care). This isn’t just conservatives, who usually do the yard work themselves, but liberals too. Except the libs hire immigrants to do landscaping, rake the leaves, and then leave them in bags for trash guys to pick them up where they’ll go to a landfill or be burned or whatever.
the most i do is pile them up a bit and compost them with a mower just to speed up decomp and keep my “lawn” from being too covered up. lately i’ve been collecting the mulch i make from them to add to my hugelkultur mound