Staff Reports
In order to justify his decision to oppose the proposed rule allowing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria for retirement funds, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia referred to Germany’s challenges in preventing power outages. ESG, also called “sustainable investing,” involves considering corporate stances on issues such as gun control, environmental concerns, and abortion, in addition to or instead of solely evaluating a company’s profitability.
By voting against the use of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria for retirement funds, Joe Manchin of the Democratic Party highlighted the potential risks associated with this investment strategy for the hard-earned savings of American workers. Germany’s efforts to eliminate coal and other fossil fuels resulted in citizens resorting to using candles to conserve electricity, and the country now requires over 43 soccer fields’ worth of solar panels every day, in addition to over 30 new wind farms per week, as per Bloomberg News.
‘Ask Germany’: Dem Senator Pours Cold Water On ESG Investing For Retirement Funds https://t.co/ZdLjXMC2jT
— US Burning (@UsBurning) March 2, 2023
Other nations have already experienced the effects of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing. Sri Lanka’s prohibition on chemical fertilizers, for instance, led to a 50% decline in crop yields in 2021, while Ghana suffered blackouts as a result of their ESG policies. In response, Missouri announced its decision to withdraw all funds from BlackRock on October 18, citing the firm’s emphasis on ESG as a “significant breach of fiduciary duty,” and Florida withdrew $2 billion from the company in December. In October, the Financial Times reported that four additional states had announced their intention to remove their assets from the firm.
The Democratic party’s push for ESG investing is a reckless and irresponsible move that puts the retirement savings of hardworking Americans at risk. It is clear that ESG investing does not work and is not a viable option for retirement funds. The Republican party is committed to protecting the retirement savings of hardworking Americans and will continue to oppose any attempts by the Democratic party to implement ESG investing.
Source: The Daily Caller
