By Sterling Mosley. Media: DC Enquirer.
Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author’s opinion.
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus joined Fox Business on Thursday to discuss the state of the next generation of business leaders in America and his verdict is not promising.
Marcus joined host Stuart Varney to react to comments made by the CEO of investment firm Blackstone Stephen Schwarzman who stated that he is looking to the next generation for leadership in America.
“I think we need to move on. For both parties, it’s a next generation of leaders. I think it’s important that, particularly on the Republican side, we’ve had a series of four losses in a row,” Schwarzman said Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg in Davos. “I think the public has spoken and would like to see a change.”
In response to these comments, Bernie Marcos explained that he did not want to see a generation of leaders that are “woke” and “entitled.”
“I certainly don’t want to see the woke generation coming up, especially the leaders. I’m watching Davos, what happened in Davos, and they’re recommending spending more money on climate control when we don’t have it,” Marcus said on “Varney & Co.” “We’ve already overspent. And if anything, climate control has caused most of the problems we have today.”
“We need leaders who are basically thinking about the shareholders and their employees and how well the shareholders and employees are doing. I think today it’s all about woke, diversity, things that don’t impact the bottom line,” he said. “We are going to have those people we will see a change. Unfortunately, I don’t see it.”
The Home Depot founder is reacting to the rise of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing in recent years which has prompted corporations to invest in left-wing causes and emphasize diversity within their companies, often to the detriment of merit.
“They don’t want to work. Nobody wants to work anymore, especially office people. They want to work three days a week. It’s incredible. How do you have a recession when you have people that don’t want jobs?” he said. “They’re entitled, they’re given everything. The government, in many cases, if you don’t work, you get as much money as when you did work.”
“So Stuart if I am in a situation where I have to go work for 40 hours a week and I’m paid money to stay home and it’s equivalent to what I earn, why would I want to go to work? So you get this laziness which you have and it’s basically a socialistic society.
As seen in recent years, the impact of government handouts on the job market was stark as individuals received more money via unemployment or COVID-19 stimulus checks than they received when they were working. As both the state and federal governments continue to expand welfare benefits, the upcoming generation is likely to feel entitled to such leisure and thus be demotivated from work. It is a trend in America that will likely weaken American business and hurt the next generation in particular.
