ESG and Stakeholderism Will Kill Capitalism and Democracy

Frank Lasee  |  Oct 31, 2022

Politicians and political talking heads commonly fearmonger about the death of capitalism and democracy, but the real threat lies under their noses: ESG investing and stakeholderism worming their way more deeply into more corporations......ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing is a system of non-standardized metrics used by investment firms. They are used to arbitrarily decide what and who they should provide capital to..... Stakeholderism relegates shareholders to just another stakeholder among many and adds priorities that do not focus on customers, shareholders, or profits. 

Supporters of stakeholderism as a system of governance for corporations believe that they should serve the interest of all their stakeholders. Investopedia explains, “under this system, a company's purpose is to create long-term value and not to maximize profits and enhance shareholder value at the cost of other stakeholder groups.” In other words, profits for shareholders will be going down the drain as time and money are spent on a multitude of social priorities............ It even gives them an out for poor financial performance, they can blame ESG while touting their losses as an ideological sacrifice. 

There is even proof that ESG funds underperform their peers. According to Harvard Business Review, ESG shareholders earn less money...........Milton Friedman stated that he believed that "social responsibility," socialism and acting in the best economic interests of a company are incompatible.... Exxon passed up a moneymaking oil and gas play because it could hurt their ESG score only to have one of the two largest oil companies, both owned by communist China, buy them up and make the profits for their owners..........We should not let them destroy American capitalism without a vote. 

It’s time to follow Louisiana, Missouri, and South Carolina’s example and move investments from ESG companies, ESG funds, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. All these groups are pushing for ESG in all corporations, and with it, the death of democracy and capitalism.........To Read More.....

Climate Litigation: ExxonMobil Strikes Back

Marlo Lewis, Jr. • January 26, 2018

ExxonMobil this week asked a Texas district court for authority to depose and obtain documents from “ExxonKnew” campaign legal strategist Matt Pawa and 15 officials or attorneys representing San Mateo County, Imperial Beach, Marin County, Oakland, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz.

Coached by Pawa, the aforementioned cities and counties recently filed civil tort claims in California against ExxonMobil and numerous other energy companies, including 17 headquartered in Texas. The lawsuits claim the cities and counties face imminent multi-million dollars loses from rising sea levels, and allege that the companies, “through their extraction, promotion, marketing, and sale of their fossil fuel products, caused” a substantial portion of global sea level rise.

ExxonMobil is asking the Texas court for permission to “investigate potential claims of abuse of process, civil conspiracy, and constitutional violations” that the company intends to file against its accusers in a lawsuit in Texas. ExxonMobil’s petition contends that the California cities and counties are “abusing law enforcement authority and legal process to impose their viewpoint on climate change.” The brief explains: ..........To Read More....