Podcast Summary
State Financial Officer's Foundation: Educating Citizens on Public Finance: State treasurers manage the finances of their state and are trusted more than governors or members of Congress. The State Financial Officer's Foundation educates citizens on these important public finance issues.
The State Financial Officer's Foundation, led by CEO Derek Kreifels, is a group of state treasurers, auditors, and controllers from 28 states who focus on educating the public and officials on issues of public finance from a free market perspective. They manage the state's checkbook, seeing day-to-day transactions, and are responsible for overseeing the state's investments. This is relevant to citizens because state treasurers are the chief financial officer for their state, and they manage the inflows and outflows of revenue, including tax revenues. A poll showed that people trust state treasurers more on state financial matters than their governor or member of Congress.
The Trustworthiness of State Treasury Officials: State treasurers and auditors are highly trusted due to their focused responsibility of managing funds, unlike governors or Congress members who deal with a wider range of issues. ESG investing is a concept where public capital money is used to advance political agendas.
State treasury officials are often more trusted than governors or members of Congress when it comes to issues of public finance, according to Derek Kreifels, Executive Director of the America's Future Foundation. This is because treasurers and state auditors are narrowly focused on fiduciary responsibility, which requires them to act in the best interest of the pool of money they are responsible for managing. In contrast, governors and members of Congress are involved in a wider range of issues, making it easier for them to make friends or foes based on social or financial issues. Kreifels also explains the concept of ESG investing, where activists use public capital money to advance a political agenda in the name of environmental, social, and governance issues.
The Pressure of ESG Mandates and Shareholder Fiduciary Duties: Large hedge funds are investing in companies with ESG mandates, raising concerns over their financial success and the imposition of mandatory standards at the expense of shareholder interests. It is crucial for state treasuries to oppose outside influences and prioritize pension fund stability and growth.
The main issue outlined in this section is the pressure for corporations to prioritize environmental and social issues over their fiduciary duty to their shareholders. Large hedge funds, such as BlackRock and Vanguard, are investing billions of dollars in companies that align with their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) mandates and punishing those who do not. This raises concerns over whether these mandates are a winning proposition from a financial perspective and whether it is appropriate to impose mandatory ESG standards on companies at the expense of their shareholders. State treasuries have a fiduciary duty to ensure stability and growth of pension funds, and opposition to outside influences is crucial in fulfilling this duty.
State Action to Protect Coal/Oil from Financial Discrimination: States are passing laws to protect their primary industries from financial institutions that refuse to work with them. Discriminatory practices harm both states and developing countries relying on coal. Net zero by 2030 is unrealistic and unreliable.
States are taking action to protect their primary industries, such as coal or oil, by exerting pressure on financial institutions that discriminate against them. For example, state treasurer Riley Moore in West Virginia passed legislation to stop state banks from working with financial institutions that refuse to deal with coal. These discriminatory practices harm both states and developing countries that rely on coal as a primary source of energy. The push towards net zero by 2030 is unrealistic, costly, and unreliable. In fact, countries like Germany have become hyper-reliant on Russia for energy due to the failure of renewable projects. The ESG movement, combined with net zero, is doomed to fail and is not supported by environmentalists themselves.
The Negative Impacts of Net Zero Emissions on Human Flourishing and Industrial Societies: Policies that aim for net zero emissions can lead to poverty and dependency on dictatorial sources of power. These policies are also ineffective and have negative consequences by offloading pollution and damage onto other countries.
In a discussion about the push for net zero emissions, Jordan Peterson and Derek Kreifels argue that such policies will have negative impacts on human flourishing and the stability of industrial societies. They point out that coal, natural gas, and oil have done more for human progress than any other sector, and taking away a country's ability to produce these energy sources will lead to poverty, as seen in the case of Sri Lanka. They also caution against a dependence on dictatorial sources of power, such as those found in Russia and China. Finally, they argue that net zero policies are not only ineffective but also make things worse by offloading pollution and environmental damage onto other countries.
The Controversial Debate Surrounding ESG Investing: ESG investing prioritizes ethical standards, but experts argue it may lead to socialist centralized state planning and could enable ideologies opposite to what companies stand for. It may not benefit the little guy and could contribute to human rights violations.
ESG investing, which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, is a controversial investment strategy that prioritizes companies that meet certain ethical standards. However, some experts argue that this is just another form of socialist centralized state planning. In addition, some corporations are adopting ESG policies even though they may enable ideology that is antithetical to what they stand for. Furthermore, these policies may not be helping the little guy, as they claim, and may actually be contributing to human rights violations in other countries. It remains unclear why capitalist enterprises are embracing this policy, and some CEOs privately express the desire to stay neutral on the issue in order to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility.
The Relationship Between Corporate Ethics and Capitalism: A Discussion with Jordan Peterson: While some corporate leaders may pursue unethical gains, it is important to recognize that guilt and pressure from younger employees can also drive companies to compromise their principles. Blindly attributing greed to capitalism ignores these complexities.
Jordan Peterson discusses how some corporate types pursue their gains unethically, leading to lawsuits against big pharma and other industries. However, he warns against attributing this greed solely to capitalism. CEOs may virtue signal and hop on board with ESG and DEI movements due to guilt over their actions. Additionally, younger employees may push for change and stakeholder capitalism, leading companies to make decisions that compromise their principles. Peterson provides an example of a rebellion among younger employees at Penguin Random House over his book, demonstrating how uncertainty about moral principles can lead to conformity with radical ideologies.
The Financial Influence of BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard: These investment giants own a significant portion of publicly traded companies in the US and use ESG goals to influence their behavior. This can limit growth opportunities for farmers and small businesses, and impact industries that provide affordable food for low-income individuals. Individuals who invest through their advisors may be contributing to this accumulating wealth and influence.
BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard are three large investment companies that together own between 18-20% of every publicly traded company in America. They use their power to influence the behavior of the companies they invest in through a checklist focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. This can lead to coercion, preventing farmers and small businesses from growing and limiting industries that feed poor people cheaply. BlackRock manages most people's 401k retirement funds and is positioned powerfully because private individuals invest money unknowingly through their retail advisors. This accumulation of wealth has given them almost unlimited financial power and a disproportionate influence in shareholder voting.
Investment Firms Face Pushback for Transparency: State pension reps want investment firms like BlackRock to be transparent in voting and conflict of interest avoidance. As ESG requirements are introduced, fiduciary interest alignment is not enough to satisfy concerns of diversity, inclusivity, and equity. Public capital could be leveraged to force political agendas, threatening individual financial rights.
Investment firms like BlackRock are facing pushback from state pension representatives who want transparency in voting and conflict of interest avoidance. Fiduciary interest alignment isn't enough when e s G requirements like diversity, inclusivity, and equity are introduced. The problem is particularly acute because of the size of state treasuries and pension funds. The ability to suspend financial rights has been seen globally through right-wing trucker protests where banks were closed and individual bank accounts were shut down. The ability to weaponize capital and the impending risk of centralized digital currency have led to concerns that public capital could be leveraged to force political agendas, threatening individual financial rights.
Government Monitoring of Banking and Digital Currency: How It Affects Americans: The US Treasury Department proposed monitoring bank transactions of $600 or more, which sparked opposition. Digital currency may also facilitate government monitoring of purchases. The organization is addressing these issues and working with credit card companies to prevent tracking.
The United States Treasury Department proposed monitoring every American's bank accounts for $600 or more transactions, which would require banks to report to the IRS. This idea was strongly opposed by Americans of all political affiliations. Jordan Peterson warns that digital currency will facilitate government monitoring of every purchase, which will be centralized and controlled by the government. The recipient of data will be the government, and what they will do with the data is unknown. The organization is currently tackling this issue later this year and has not spent a lot of time on it. They are carefully watching the coding of credit cards for transactions related to gun or ammunition purchases, which has the potential to track someone's expenditures in that area. The organization works with some of the largest credit card companies in the world to prevent such tracking.
The Rise of Digital Currencies and the Threat of Corporate Regulatory Capture: Educate on energy independence and push back against politicized banking to create change. Decentralized digital currency like Bitcoin is a preferred option over state-issued currencies. Corporate regulatory capture poses significant threats. Recent pushback examples include BlackRock's layoffs and decreased worth due to ESG agenda.
Jordan Peterson and Derek Kreifels discuss the rise of digital currencies, with Peterson stating that he prefers decentralized options like Bitcoin over state-issued digital currencies. They also touch on the threat posed by corporations engaging in regulatory capture, with Kreifels mentioning states taking action against companies like BlackRock. Kreifels stresses the importance of educating Americans on issues like energy independence and the impact of interdependence on other countries, and pushing back against banks using political agendas in their business. The pushback has seen some impact, with BlackRock's worth decreasing and layoffs taking place due to their ESG agenda.
BlackRock vs Strive Asset Management: A Clash of Approaches to Fiduciary Responsibility: By supporting companies like Strive Asset Management that prioritize fiduciary responsibility in their business approach, individuals can contribute to a diverse and equitable market-based alternative that offers opportunities for all.
BlackRock, a large asset management company, is accused of weaponizing other people's money to advance their political agenda, and their multimillion dollar ad campaign on Fox News is viewed as a sham to save face. On the other hand, entrepreneurs like VEC Ramaswami, who launched Strive Asset Management, are taking an opposite approach by focusing on fossil fuels and refusing to do any business with China. This provides a market-based alternative that is grounded in fiduciary responsibility. People can learn more about fiduciary responsibility and contribute by supporting such companies that provide alternative options, as equity for all leads to opportunity for none. It's heartening to see the diverse culture and the distribution of power that leads to constant renewal in the US, unlike in countries like Canada, where there's less opportunity.
Learn About the Potential Harm of ESG Investing and How to Protect Yourself: Our Money Our Values is an organization that provides an educational video and resources to help investors ask important questions about ESG investing. Small business owners and farmers can also share their experiences. Beware of the influence of big companies like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard.
The website ourmoneyourvalues.com offers an educational video on ESG investing and its potential harm in plain English. It also provides resources for download to help investors ask their registered advisors important questions. Small business owners and farmers can share their stories of how ESG is impacting them or hurting their business. The organization behind the website is accepting donations to continue their efforts to educate Americans on the dangers of ESG investing. It is important for people to be aware of ESGs because organizations like BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard own approximately 20% of the biggest 500 companies in the US, giving them tremendous leverage.
