Many reasons have been thrown about as to why the U.S. is still in the midst of a historic labor shortage, including a decline in fertility rates, older workers retiring in droves, the lingering effects of COVID-19 infections, and of course, worker demands for fairer pay and more expansive benefits.
But Bernie Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot, says it’s really simple: People just hate capitalism now. Because of “socialism,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times published Thursday, “nobody works. Nobody gives a damn. ‘Just give it to me. Send me money. I don’t want to work—I’m too lazy, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid.’’
In today’s business climate, Home Depot may have been able to only open 15 or 16 stores, Marcus said, compared to the 2,300 locations the retailer currently has scattered around the U.S. For Marcus—an unabashed supporter of former President Donald Trump, often to his own company’s chagrin—the reasons behind today’s unfavorable environment include the current administration and the “woke” establishment’s involvement in business.
In the wide-ranging interview, where Marcus—worth over $5 billion according to Bloomberg—touched on everything from his reputation as a prolific philanthropist to his inclination for Milton Friedman’s business-first interpretation of economics, the former CEO lamented capitalism’s slow demise in the U.S. while criticizing the “woke people” he thinks are eradicating free speech.
A Home Depot spokesperson told Fortune Marcus’ comments do not represent the company. Marcus retired from active involvement with Home Depot in 2002.
The Great Resignation, misunderstood
Marcus is far from the first business leader to say perceived laziness in the U.S. and government handouts are the root causes behind the labor shortage.
Last year, online mortgage company Better.com fired more than 900 employees after CEO Vishal Gard publicly accused hundreds of staffers of being unproductive, not working long or hard enough, and therefore “stealing” from the company and its clients. Much of the criticism has been aimed at younger members of the workforce, who earlier this year were referred to as a “very entitled generation that has never had to sacrifice” by BlackRock President Robert Kapito.
So far, this theory behind the labor shortage has failed to gain support from numbers. Early retirements and strong stock market dividends were seen as major factors behind the so-called Great Resignation last year, while employees seeking more purpose in their work and a better quality of life have kept it alive this year.
Regardless, some business leaders and politicians have criticized younger workers and pandemic-era government aid as a leading cause of the labor shortage.
Gen Z and millennial employees are taking the brunt of criticism for leaving their jobs in search of pastures new, but older baby boomers have been just as responsible by leaving the workforce permanently, with many of the 3.5 million people currently missing from the labor force thought to be early retirees.
‘Woke people have taken over the world’
In his interview with the FT, Marcus said he was “worried about capitalism,” as the vehicle to wealth he benefited from appears to be breaking down, suggesting the institutions of free speech and profit-seeking business were under threat from the rise of “woke” culture in the U.S.
“We used to have free speech here. We don’t have it,” he said. “The woke people have taken over the world.”
With political issues including abortion rights and gun control rising to the fore this year, employees have demanded their companies take a public stance, a business shift some politicians have criticized as extreme wokeness and have been willing to wage a war against. Tensions boiled over earlier this year in Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill dissolving special concessions the state gave to the Walt Disney Company, after the entertainment giant publicly opposed the governor’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
In July, DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE Act” also took effect, geared towards combating “both corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory (CRT)” in the state.
Marcus told the FT that he was a fan of DeSantis, and is looking forward to an “interesting” electoral contest in 2024 between the Florida governor and Trump. He didn’t say which candidate he would rather see clinching the Republican nomination, although he made his thoughts abundantly clear on Joe Biden, whom he called “the worst president in the history of this country.”
