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Thanks to the leadership of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas taxpayers and investors are not currently hindered by woke Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investment policies.
After the state legislature took action, Paxton issued guidance ensuring companies doing business with the Lone Star State verify in writing that they do not and will not boycott energy companies during the term of their government contracts, discriminate against firearm companies or trade associations, or boycott Israel.
For senior citizens and workers saving for retirement, Paxton ensuring the state abandons ESG investing was welcome news. A recent study found that these funds are market laggards and have failed to beat the market rate of return over the past decade.
Despite clear and convincing evidence that ESG investing hurts consumers and taxpayers, the Biden regime is now trying to force Texas companies to join companies like Disney, Target, and Budweiser that put the woke agenda ahead of their customers and investors.
The Biden regime recently issued an ESG rule to pressure financial firms into investing their clients’ 401k plans into left-wing, anti-freedom causes. A federal court recently upheld the rule after several state attorneys general (led by Paxton) challenged it. This policy will directly impact seniors and businesses in Texas.
While the new rule is not binding, the Biden regime may have discovered a new way to pressure states into doing its ideological bidding. The Treasury Department recently convinced the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to issue a proposal that will penalize insurance companies that rely on private investments with a 45 percent capital charge. This socialistic, anti-private equity penalty — part of Biden’s greater push to reshape the economy in ways that liberal bureaucrats and ideologues desire — would significantly reduce the insurance options available to Americans.
This NAIC policy change will not benefit the average American. As with all anti-competitive policies, Americans will likely see higher costs, fewer choices, and increased government control over the insurance industry.
This is not the only way that the NAIC is attempting to help the regime force anti-free market and pro-ESG policies down Texans’ throats. For example, after the Treasury Department issued a recent report demanding insurance companies apply stricter global warming policies the NAIC began considering a proposal to adopt a “climate resilience strategy.”
Texas is a great place because we allow businesses to place the customer’s priorities first, not the government's. Companies flee to states like ours, where economic freedom still reigns. We pride ourselves on providing one of the world's best places to do business, and we can't allow unelected bureaucrats to change that reality.
It’s not too late for Texas to stand up to this government-backed NAIC overreach. The state’s own Department of Insurance has influence within the NAIC and can give voice to those who want insurance to serve its beneficiaries, not the woke agenda. And the best part is that the NAIC’s rules aren’t binding. Many states just treat them as binding as an excuse to impose government control. This means that Governor Greg Abbott and Insurance Commissioner Cassie Brown can simply ignore this latest woke investing push if it comes to fruition.
Texas' regulators cannot afford to let Attorney General Paxton battle the cancerous ESG agenda alone. They need to help him keep ESG out of the state by stopping this Biden power grab while they still can.
Chris Salcedo is the radio show host of the Texas-based “The Chris Salcedo Show” and is featured on NewsmaxTV, WBAP and KSEV.