Ron DeSantis joins 18 other red states in fighting virtue flagging and corporate “wake-ups,” known as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).
ESG, denounced by DeSantis and other right-wing politicians, has become a recent Republican buzzword to denounce companies and organizations that use their power in business and finance to advance an agenda – generally progressive.
The 19 governors signed a joint statement stating, “Once again, President Biden has placed his political agenda above the well-being and individual freedoms of hard-working Americans.”
Calling themselves “freedom-loving states,” the governors pledge to use their respective states’ pension funds to force corporations to maximize shareholder value instead of pushing “woke ideology.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joins 18 other Republican governors in leading an effort to crack down on ‘woke’ corporate ESG investing and protect their citizens’ pension funds
Governors released a joint statement on the effort on Thursday after Biden said he would oppose congressional efforts to keep politics out of pension funds.
Besides Florida, other states involved in the effort include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Many of those who signed with DeSantis are former Trump stalwarts, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as the former president’s White House press secretary but declined to sign. publicly endorse his 2024 candidacy when asked in a phone call, according to reports.
In an op-ed, DeSantis explained that ESG is typically only employed for a few reasons – whether those working at the top of companies want to advance their agenda or one that would benefit them, or give in to the will of workers who want their employer to reflect their values.
In his new book The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival, the potential 2024 presidential candidate called for “crippling the ESG movement.”
Desantis is considered one of the biggest fighters against ESG given his “war with Disney”.
The governor said he was warned not to take on the mighty Florida company, but went head-first into a war with Walt Disney World after the then-CEO published a statement opposing his laws that gave more power to parents. the education of their children.
“The proliferation of ESG across America is a direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance and the everyday economy,” notes the joint statement from DeSantis and the 18 other governors.
Among those who have backed the initiative are former Trump White House press secretary and current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (right)
DeSantis’ press release on the effort notes that ESG was “destabilizing the U.S. economy and the global financial system.”
Congress passed legislation to try to keep politics out of Americans’ retirement funds, which Biden openly opposed.
“President Biden has threatened to veto this measure, which puts the pensions of thousands of Americans who work hard for the radical environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) movement, at risk, rather than give priority in investment decisions on the highest rate of return,” the group said. reporting notes.
They added: “Retirees, who are already suffering from the Biden administration’s reckless tax policies, will continue to experience lower returns on the investment of their hard-earned money while the corporate elite continues to use their economic power. to impose policies on the country that they couldn’t get at the polls.
