The Capitalist Investor - Episode 163 Welcome back! The Capitalist Investor squad discusses everything from investing in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) all the way to conversations coming up between Kevin McCarthy & President Biden in regard to government spending. On top of all this, there’s been a recent report that small business is what’s really holding up the labor market and keeping the unemployment rate from spiking. All of this & more on this week’s “The Capitalist Investor”.Hot Small Business JobsA recent Wall Street Journal article sited the labor market being impacted by Small Business. Over the past couple of years, large corporations gained a ton of market share while many small businesses constantly struggled. Large corporations even poached the top talent from small business which made their life even harder. All you hear in the news over the past few months is how the mega-tech names and largest corporations in the world are thinning up and laying off employees. Those employees need to go somewhere, and a lot of them are going back to small business. We can call this the “Great Re-Poaching” for small business. The biggest question of them all though is how long this lasts and if small business can weather the storm over the next year.Social Security – McCarthy vs. BidenThe fight of the century is coming up… We need to address the debt limit here in the United States and address the crazy spending from the government. With republicans now in control of the house, Kevin McCarthy is looking to budget with Biden. All you hear over the news is how Republicans are looking to take away things like Social Security to ease government spending. All of this would be political suicide and is blatantly untrue. But what’s not untrue is the fact that Social Security does need changes, especially with the trust fund that funds around 24% of Social Security set to run out around 2034. What’s the future around Social Security and what will be discussed between McCarthy & Biden? The capitalist investor squad gives their thoughts around all of this.ESG MadnessWe’ve been getting a lot of questions around ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) lately around what it is and if people should be investing in it. ESG investing is relatively new, and the people that promote ESG promise so many different things. The biggest issue around ESG is the hypocrisy around it, and if the funds & investment approach is really about the environment, social, or governance. Is ESG really just a money grab? What is the fiduciary responsibility of investing within ESG? There are people out there that have even promised better returns from investing within ESG, which was put to rest in 2022 when it did not offer better returns. There are many angles within ESG investing, and the squad has a lot of thoughts on it. Connect With Mark TepperTwitter: @MarkTepperSWPFollow Mark on LinkedInSend Mark a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect With Ryan DobrokaTwitter: @DobrokaRyanFollow Ryan on LinkedInSend Ryan a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect with Derek GabrielsenTwitter: @DerekGabrielsenFollow Derek on LinkedInSend Derek a message hereCheck out Derek’s YouTube channel!Connect With Luke LloydTwitter: @LloydBoyLukeFollow Luke on LinkedInSend Luke a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect with Tony ZabiegalaTwitter: @TonyZabiegalaFollow Tony on LinkedInSend Tony a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube channel!Send your questions and comments to us at info@SWPConnect.com