Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) unveiled an alliance with more than a dozen other states to fight against President Joe Biden's environmental, social, and corporate governance investing (ESG).
According to a press release, the 19 states argue that Biden's woke ESG agenda is "destabilizing the American economy and the global financial system," threatening America's economic freedom.
"The proliferation of ESG throughout 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," the states wrote in a joint statement.
The states pushed against Biden's woke ideology, saying that he is putting the pensions of thousands of hundreds of hardworking Americans at risk instead of prioritizing investment decisions on the highest rate of return. The press release says that they aim to change how asset managers invest Americans' money and ensure that corporations focus on maximizing shareholder value.
"Retirees, already suffering from the reckless fiscal policies of the Biden Administration, will continue to experience diminished 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 could not achieve at the ballot box," the statement continued. "The proliferation of ESG throughout 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."
Republicans have brought forth legislation that would nullify the Biden Administration's existing ESG rule, allowing retirement fund managers to consider ESG factors. However, the president is expected to veto it.
The statement highlighted two efforts the states agreed to fight back on. One is to protect taxpayers from ESG influences across state systems, and the other is to protect citizens from ESG influences in the financial sector.
In a separate statement, DeSantis touted Florida as the nation's economic engine, with an unemployment rate consistently lower than the U.S. average and higher than any other state's rate of business formation.
"We will not stand idly by as the stability of our country's economy is threatened by woke executives who put their political agenda ahead of their client's finances," DeSantis said.