It’s clear that Democrats long ago surrendered the mantle of being the party of “the little guy,” favoring instead the major players of corporate America.
And corporate America has responded, by instilling and promoting the left-wing woke policies that the federal government could not do on its own because of constitutional restrictions.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz illustrated this week how strongly the Democrats want to defend their corporate allies and donors — no matter how much they complain about how little taxes big companies pay.
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In an interview, the Miami Democrat told Bloomberg that Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis “has essentially declared war on Wall Street” by fighting woke corporations on their “environmental, social, and governance,” or ESG, policies about investing and companies’ public behavior.
DeSantis, Wasserman Schultz whined, “doesn’t understand the impact on corporations and businesses who simply want to make sure that they can operate ethically, that they’re making decisions that are going to improve their diversity, improve sustainability,” as well as improve transparency.
She was griping about a couple of recent developments.
Last month, as The Free Press reported, DeSantis directed that the managers of the state’s investment portfolio reject companies that maximize ESG wokeness instead of shareholders’ returns.
He also floated a bill to prohibit big banks, credit card companies, and money transmitters from discriminating against consumers based on their religious, political, or social beliefs — in other words, conservatives.
“Corporations across America continue to inject an ideological agenda through our economy rather than through the ballot box,” said DeSantis at the time. “Today’s actions reinforce that ESG considerations will not be tolerated here in Florida.”
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This week, as reported by The Free Press, DeSantis championed another bill to block companies from implementing Chinese-style “social credit systems,” whereby people are graded on their “trustworthiness” in adhering to left-wing principles.
DeSantis’ office said this bill would end corporate discrimination “against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs — like owning a firearm, securing the border, or increasing our energy independence.”
ESG policies generally support left-wing politics.
Financial agencies and analysts who score companies on their “trustworthiness” to impose ESG principles look at such firms’ beliefs on issues like climate change; diversity, equity and inclusion programs; LGBTQ advocacy; gun control; immigration; and other “socially conscious” matters.
As for those ESG beliefs, Wasserman Schultz told Bloomberg, “Those are all values that are good for business. And Gov. DeSantis has declared war on those things.”
“Either he doesn’t understand the positive impact or the bottom line for businesses when they engage in those practices or he’s allergic to them or he’s just decided that culture warrior is his pathway to the White House, or at least to the Republican nomination,” she added.
“It’s damaging our economy here. It’s going to make businesses less likely to locate here.”
One might think Wasserman Schultz might be better informed on such an issue.
In recent months, the business media has used terms like “flocking,” “boom,” and “growing” to describe the trend in companies relocating from blue states to Florida, especially in Wasserman Schultz’s hometown, which is becoming a national hub for tech and financial firms.
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Last month, Business.com reported, “Florida was the top location for newly formed business entities.”
“Out of the 5.8 million new business applications filed nationally from January 2021 to January 2022, 683,680 – 12% – were in Florida,” the website reported.
Wasserman Schultz, like most liberals, has it backwards: DeSantis’ stance on woke corporatism is not driving companies away from Florida, it’s bringing them in.
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