One of the stranger political crusades of the past few years has been the Republican war on so-called woke capital, which has led GOP politicians across the country to adopt a kind of anti-corporate, pro-regulatory rhetoric that one normally associates with the left wing of the Democratic Party. And among the GOP’s favorite targets in this war has been ESG investing—investment funds that take “environmental, social, and governance” considerations into account.
For Republicans, ESG funds are a Trojan horse, designed to smuggle progressive attitudes toward climate change, and diversity and inclusion, into executive suites and corporate boardrooms, all under the guise of supposedly improving investment returns. And so, in red states, state treasurers have pulled public money out of firms that are associated with ESG, including even some of the world’s biggest investment firms, such as BlackRock and State Street.
On top of that, Republican legislatures in at least 20 states have adopted anti-ESG rules of one sort or another. Last year, after the Biden administration revised a Trump-era rule to make clear that pension-fund managers could use ESG if it did not hurt investment returns, Republicans in the House and Senate (along with two Senate Democrats) passed a resolution seeking to repeal the rule. And a coalition of Republican state attorneys general filed suit in federal court to have the rule overturned. (Biden vetoed the congressional resolution, and a district court tossed out the lawsuit, so the rule remains in effect.)
But the ESG front in the right’s war on woke capital is still active. Republican legislators in New Hampshire are now trying to raise the stakes. Earlier this month, they proposed a bill that would order any government agency investing state funds to ensure that no public money goes to investors who manage their funds “with any regard whatsoever based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.” More striking, the bill would make it a felony to knowingly violate this order. (The wording of the bill does not attempt to define ESG, aside from using this catchphrase language.) In other words, the bill would effectively criminalize any ESG investments on the state’s behalf.
Anyone: Tries to marginally improve the world
Conservatives: “Im gonna stop you right there.”
Conservatives: “Deregulate coz Freedumb”
Also, Conservatives: “Imma regulate everything and everyone I disagree with, for any reason that pisses off my snowflake ass”
Who would’ve thought that a political ideology founded on “conserving” the monarchs and their crony 0.01%-ers post-revolution would turn out to be so authoritarian and anti-democratic…
I think it’s the same old “rules for thee but not for me” bull crap.
Time for the Frank Wilhoit quote:
Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition … There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.
This is capitalism, vote with your dollar!
Wait, no, not like that!
Average conservative:
My children: “I love them deeply and want a safe world for them to live in”
My grandchildren: “they are the future of our country, holds back tear”
My great grandchildren onwards: “fuck them, hope they all die of skin cancer, or from a tsunami”
That’s if you believe the words they say. They are also the ones that tend to kick their children out as soon as they legally can (or sometimes sooner) or do abusive shit to mold them into what they want them to be (or somehow even worse, outsource the abuse to some cult camp).
Conservatives lack the ability to conceptualize things they can’t see.
designed to smuggle progressive attitudes toward climate change, and diversity and inclusion, into executive suites and corporate boardrooms
Ex-fucking-cuse me?
We’ve reached “helping puppies is literally devil worship” from these fucking psychos…
Diversity and inclusion… The act of not excluding people unnecessarily, that is a bridge too far for these hate-filled wastes of oxygen?
“I want to live in a world where corporations dictate the viability of our planet for life, where anyone can discriminate against anyone for any reason, and where we are all completely identical in skin color and culture.”
That’s the Republican utopia? Holy shit “conservatives” look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re the bad guy here before you go vote. (Spoiler: you are if you support them)
If BLACKROCK is too “woke” for you, there’s nothing left of your sanity. Officially no contact with reality anymore.
I thought Citizens United said money = speech. Therefore conservatives are trying to limit Citizens United.
What’s more woke than being able to drive places? Boycott the socialist roadways.
What’s more woke than being able to send postage for PENNIES? boycott the socialist usps
What’s more woke than cleaning your ass after shitting? Boycott the socialist hygiene that allows people to live past 35!
Do ESG funds yield much? It feels good to read about doing the right thing, but it doesn’t feel good to have investments not pay off that require you to make cuts later. As a personal investor I could never really justify the expense ratios and historical performance for my retirement or investment. And I don’t believe my silver of capital in the global economy makes any difference.
I don’t believe my silver of capital in the global economy makes any difference.
No raindrop thinks itself responsible for the flood.
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