I just found this when doing a search for 'social activist investment' in Google.
http://www.freeenterpriseactionfund.com/about.html
Well, well. This reminds me of the Powell Memo.
"Business is under attack, run for the hills and plan your strategy for the next 30 years on how to take back this country!" - paraphrased of course.
Give me a break. These people may have a clue on how to put together a financial organization and buy some stock, but that's about it. They don't know what the Constitution says, they don't know the vision put forward by Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, and I'll venture to say that they don't understand what Adam Smith wrote in 1776. I haven't read the book "Wealth of Nations" myself yet, but it's on my list. What I do know about the book is that it is an Academic work about Economic Theory, and it flies in the face of where the current US economy is going.
So, I want to address some of the accusations that are put forward on that page. Let's see what I can come up with here.
"Left-wing social and political activists are harnessing the power, resources and influence of publicly-owned corporations to advance their social and political agendas. (1) Frustrated by their failure to advance their agendas in the public political process, these activists use capitalism against capitalism under the guise of “corporate social responsibility” and “socially responsible investing.” (2) Their movement threatens shareholder value and the American system of free enterprise."
How can we not?! It's been working wonderfully for the Conservative Movement since the late 1960's, and at that point in time they were just as frustrated as we are now. It's actually the concept of "socially responsible investing" that I'm also worried about, but for different reasons. I don't think we help our causes at all by letting the money being collected by the Oil companies and the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex continue to go into the hands of a small number of people, which is what is happening now. All companies should be investment targets, not just the ones that we like. What's the point of having 13% of the investment market if we're letting some companies get away with murder?! Literally!! What do you think Iraq is? It's murder as far as I'm concerned, but we let the oil companies and arms manufacturers get away with it and have their shareholders get all the profits because we're too 'good' to touch their stocks! I think it's critical to invest in these companies, because otherwise we have no control at all, and no voice in anything that they are doing.
Hmm, the minimum investment in their fund is $1,000 with subsequent investments at $250. Not as bad as many of the other funds that I've looked at, but still, who among the people on the street can pull $1,000 out of their savings account to put into ANY investment.
I digress...
Our Core Principle. “The social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits.” [Milton Friedman Winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics]
I think there is a Supreme Court case that put this into our legal framework as well. Ok, fine. So our businesses are supposed to earn the profits and grow the economy. And then what? What do the owners do with their money? Are they donating to causes that need money? I keep hearing people talking in support of free enterprise and against government funding to social programs that if the need is really there, the money will be there because good people will donate. I'm calling that total BS. I get calls every single day from charities that are begging for money to stay in operation. There are dozens of charities within 5 miles of where I live that are struggling. The Portland Rescue Mission chairity is having to scale back operations because the money is not there. So where are the owners of Exxon-Mobil or Haliburton? They're moving their corporate headquarters overseas so they DON'T HAVE TO PAY TAXES, and hoarding their money in off-shore bank accounts where the interest isn't taxed either. They don't give a damn about the charities that our people need, sometimes to survive.
What actions will the Fund take?
- Engaging corporate managements.
- Using the media.
- Marshalling support for Fund activism.
There's more, but why bother. They are doing the same thing that people have done since the beginning, advocating for their ideological position and for an increase in their financial return. Yeah, so? Are they saying that they should be able to do this while those of us in the Social Responsibile Investment community do not? To bad they don't have any means of making that threat a reality. What are they going to do, encourage companies to take their stocks off the market? Or refuse any and all shareholder resolutions? Clamp down on media outlets that advertise SRI funds? They can't. Because if they do these things, they're preventing themselves from continuing their own activities.
However, here is something I somewhat agree with them on:
We believe that social activist investors and anti-business activists threaten shareholder value and the American system of free enterprise.
I'm not against business. I fully support the capitalist system of economics. Capitalism is a method of the distribution of goods and services that uses capital and the collection of capital in order to get things done. There's nothing wrong with that until someone comes along and tries to say that because they have lots of money, their voice should be heard above those that don't have the same amount of money in the political arena. So, those shareholders who hold a majority in the stock of a company are right now pushing these business managers and CEO's to ignore their own best interest and pollute the air, water and airwaves with poison. And if the "social responsibility" of a company is to make money, then they most certainly are threatening shareholder value and the American system of free enterprise", because they are pissing off the people who work for these companies beyond the breaking point.
There should be a wall between Wall Street and the State that is as high as the wall between Church and State.
I don't want to move towards Socialism or Communism. I like the fact that if I have an idea for a business, I have the opportunity start a business and try and sell that product or service in the market. What I don't like is that unless I have the money to pay for the advertising needed to get the word out about my product or service, big corporations can quickly come out with similar or even the same product or service and steal my thunder. And they can pay the dividends that go into the pockets of their shareholders that support certain candidates for political office who will write and pass laws that ALLOW THESE COMPANIES TO GET AWAY WITH IT!
So this is quite the post. Here's the bottom line:
If it is the responsibility of a business to make money for their shareholders, it is the responsibility of the public to become those shareholders so we can make sure that the profits being made are going towards causes that we support. And that's what I'm preaching. Let the companies make all the money they want until we can get the laws changed. Just make sure that you are gaining a benefit from that money in the big picture. If you want your air and water polluted, then let them continue to do business like they have been. If you want to make a change, it's up to us. We have the power to turn things around in this country, and in this economy. And nobody can take that power away without taking away their own power.
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