ESG Comes for 401Ks, Adios Marty Walsh, & Interview Reveal
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good afternoon,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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ESG Could Mire Already Strained 401(k) Plans
My latest op-ed on behalf of Independent Women’s Forum was just published at RealClearMarkets:
The Department of Labor’s new rule permitting retirement plan fiduciaries to weigh and prioritize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors for investment decisions and shareholder rights is being lauded by the Biden administration. But millions of Americans won’t be celebrating this move after risky investment strategies drain their 401(K) savings accounts.
The DOL rule stems from a May 2021 executive order mandating a whole-of-government approach to assess physical risks posed by climate change on critical financial decisions. This consequential rule change will amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to “protect life savings and pensions of America’s workers and families from the threats of climate-related financial risk” by reversing the “chilling effects” that were wrought by a 2020 Trump administration rule.
152 million Americans, or two-thirds of the U.S. population, will see their retirement funds—estimated to be valued at $10 trillion—jeopardized by ESG considerations. The primary goal of retirement plans, much like general investment strategies, is to maximize return on investments—not stray away from this intended goal. Adding stressors like ESG will threaten existing accounts with depreciating funds and create more unnecessary financial risk.
Marty Walsh Out at Dept. of Labor
After nearly two years as Biden’s Labor Secretary, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is leaving the agency. He’s been tapped to run the National Hockey League’s union.
Walsh the first Cabinet Member to leave the Biden administration.
From POLITICO:
“In accepting this offer I am committing to do all that I can to advocate on players’ behalf,” Walsh said in a release. “So I look forward to working with players and the NHLPA staff to make the NHLPA the best and most effective team we can be to advance and protect the interests of our players and their families.”
Walsh will step in for Don Fehr, who has led the NHLPA since 2010.
Walsh built his political profile as a union leader in Boston, and his ties to organized labor were a key factor in President Joe Biden’s decision to name him Labor secretary. He was a highly visible surrogate for Biden and the White House, selling the administration’s message on the road and on television.
“I am forever grateful to President Biden not only for the faith he placed in me, but for his steady, transformative and historic leadership on behalf of working people everywhere,” Walsh said in an email sent to Labor Department staff. “I leave the Department with a deeper understanding of why working people are the heart and soul and strength of our nation.”
Personally speaking, I won’t shed a tear. Walsh only advanced the interests of public sector unions and never praised the freelance workforce. He was pro-Labor, not pro-worker.
My thoughts on his departure:
Exclusive: Interview with Dawn Buckingham
I recently interviewed new Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., for District of Conservation and my YouTube Channel.
Sworn into office last month, Buckingham is the first woman ever to helm the Texas General Land Office—a position that predates the Texas Governor.
Here’s TX GLO’s mission:
The Texas General Land Office primarily serves the schoolchildren, veterans, and the environment of Texas. The agency does so by preserving our history, maximizing state revenue through innovative administration, and through the prudent stewardship of state lands and natural resources.
To hear and watch my conversation with Commission Buckingham, subscribe to my podcast and YouTube Channel. Her episode will drop this Monday morning.
Stay tuned!
ICYMI
Articles/ commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
I was quoted in Fox Business on whale deaths across the Eastern Seaboard.
And I spoke to WCHV (Charlottesville) host Joe Thomas and WJIM (Lansing, MI) host Steve Gruber about right whales potentially being affected by offshore wind development. (I’ll share the clips next week when they’re available.)
ARTICLES/BLOGS
Townhall: Daines Hunting Photo Kerfuffle Shows U.S. Needs Conservation Lesson
Townhall: Idaho Lawmakers Strongly Oppose Lava Ridge Wind Project
RealClearMarkets: ESG Could Mire Already Strained 401(k) Plans
Podcasts You May Have Missed
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella
Thank you for the updates. Funny that labor goon Marty Walsh and ESG in pension funds are in the same update today. If all the union members pensions take a dive because The Big Guy directed the investors to follow ESG in place of making money, will they vote 81 million times again? All politicians are shady but democrats are rotten to the core. They are all but a monarchy in this country.