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Forbes Research’s recent look at how fast-growing small and mid-size businesses are putting their money to work confirms what conservatives already suspected: companies that win prize out productivity-enhancing investments over political theater. The Forbes CxO Growth Survey finds high-growth firms are prioritizing employee wellbeing, accelerating AI adoption, and—much to the worry of free-market purists—stepping up sustainability spending as part of their growth playbook.
The rush into artificial intelligence is real and for once it isn’t just Silicon Valley hype; Forbes reports 57 percent of CIOs at high-growth firms are deploying AI across the enterprise, and vendor earnings show real productivity gains from those investments. Companies like Atlassian and Salesforce are openly tying AI rollouts to customer wins and improved engineering productivity, which should excite conservatives who back private-sector innovation over heavy-handed regulation.
But let’s be blunt: the surge in ESG and sustainability budgets at many of these firms is troubling when those dollars are diverted from core capital investment and shareholder returns. Forbes notes sizable shares of CEOs and CFOs at high-growth firms view sustainability as an opportunity and plan to fund ESG initiatives next year, yet corporate America has a long history of letting virtue signaling trump value creation. Conservatives must call out wasteful political posturing dressed up as “sustainability” and demand that boards prioritize profitability, jobs, and national competitiveness.
There’s a more defensible trend buried in the headlines: investment in the workforce. Forbes finds high-growth CHROs overwhelmingly back mental-health support and aggressive upskilling programs, and many firms tie talent development directly to revenue gains. No one on the right should oppose sensible training and retention strategies that lift workers, raise pay, and keep jobs in America—so long as these programs are practical, not ideological, and focused on skills that produce real economic returns.
Still, these corporate choices don’t happen in a vacuum. Executives remain wary of tariffs, inflation, and regulatory uncertainty that can wipe out the benefits of bold investments, a point Forbes underlines in its CEO coverage. If Washington keeps throwing up new costs and mandates, even the most forward-looking firms will hesitate to expand payroll or modernize factories—precisely the opposite of what hardworking Americans need.
The conservative prescription is simple: cheer companies that invest in technology and workers, but oppose taxpayer-subsidized virtue signaling and burdensome rules that punish success. Lawmakers should cut taxes, roll back needless regulations, and let entrepreneurs spend capital where it actually grows the economy—on productivity, equipment, and employee training—so America remains the best place in the world to build a business and raise a family.
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