Ramaswamy’s own conflict of interest in attacking BlackRock shows just how difficult it is for public pension managers to avoid ESG investments if they own any ETFs — as do most pension funds — since they represent the most significant stocks bought and sold on the market every day.
Economy
Vulnerable House GOP Freshmen Voted to Kill Funding for Clean Energy Projects in Their Own Districts
Six of the most vulnerable first-term congressional Republicans represent districts that are benefitting from new renewable energy facilities made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, one of President Biden’s most significant legislative achievements to date.
Fossil Fuel Consultant and Leonard Leo Lieutenant Lobby ALEC Lawmakers on “Stopping ESG”
At last week’s annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a fossil fuel industry consultant teamed up with a right-wing culture warrior to lobby ALEC lawmakers to move legislation that punishes companies embracing sustainable business practices.
ALEC Ditches Free Market and Limited Government Principles at its 50th Annual Meeting
Republican state lawmakers, corporate lobbyists, and right-wing operatives are descending on Orlando this week for the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council ready to fight “woke capitalism,” extend a lifeline to big polluters, ban ranked-choice voting, attack bodily autonomy, and consider an array of other model policies.
ALEC Considers Blacklisting Companies That Voluntarily Recognize Unions
Republican state lawmakers and corporate lobbyists in the American Legislative Exchange Council will consider model legislation this week that creates new barriers to union organizing efforts across the country.
Federal Covid Relief Funds Fuel Koch-Backed Flat Tax “Revolution”
A decade-long push by Koch’s political and policy network to get more states to flatten or abolish income taxes is finally beginning to pay off, thanks to billions in federal Covid relief funds flowing to the states.
ALEC’s State Ratings Favor Corporate Policy Wish-List Over Quality of Life
ALEC’s annual economic survey ranks states “rich” based on how closely states track the corporate pay-to-play group’s preferred tax and labor policies as opposed to actual quality of life factors such as wages, poverty rates, and access to healthcare.
How Koch Cash Is Bankrolling the Effort to Kill Big Tech Reform
When the next big disaster unfolds due to deregulation, don’t be fooled. Republicans are deflecting blame by attacking the Biden administration as insufficiently populist, but the seeds of the East Palestine train derailment and Silicon Valley Bank bailout were sown under the Trump deregulatory regime and more broadly by the anti-government ethos of the GOP and its Big Money donors.
Florida Bills Deliver on DeSantis and ALEC Anti-Union Wish Lists
Florida’s 2023 legislative session has kicked off with a pair of bills chock full of new labor regulations long sought after by anti-union activists.
ALEC to SFOF Pipeline Unearthed
One in every four members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF)—the group of Republican state treasurers, auditors, and other financial officers on the frontlines of the campaign against “woke capitalism”—has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Center for Media and Democracy has found.