{"id":1317974,"date":"2022-02-20T11:12:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T16:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1317974"},"modified":"2022-02-20T11:13:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T16:13:16","slug":"state-lawmakers-are-waking-up-to-blackrocks-dangers-to-americans-and-taking-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-lawmakers-are-waking-up-to-blackrocks-dangers-to-americans-and-taking-action\/","title":{"rendered":"State Lawmakers Are Waking Up To BlackRock\u2019s Dangers To Americans, And Taking Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fstate-lawmakers-are-waking-up-to-blackrocks-dangers-to-americans-and-taking-action%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1317974&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/BlackRock-e1645141017719.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>West Virginia Republican Treasurer Riley Moore <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/18\/west-virginia-treasurer-riley-moore-drops-blackrock-over-woke-capitalism\/\">axed<\/a> his state\u2019s relationship with BlackRock last month over the $10 trillion investment firm\u2019s dual loyalty to Chinese interests and woke capitalism. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the state\u2019s chief financial officer and chairman of the Board of Treasury Investments, I have a duty to ensure that taxpayer dollars are managed in a responsible, financially sound fashion which reflects the best interests of our state and country, and I believe doing business with BlackRock runs contrary to that duty,\u201d Moore said in a press release at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Now the colossal Wall Street firm is void of oversight for the state\u2019s investment fund, a liquid account worth approximately $1.5 billion. While it might not be much money to BlackRock, Moore tells The Federalist, it\u2019s \u201ca hell of a lot for the people of West Virginia,\u201d and far too much to park with an investment firm infected by corporate wokeism working to defraud the state\u2019s more than 1.7 million residents. <\/p>\n<p>Despite holding <a href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/stocks\/blackrock-holds-85-billion-in-coal-despite-green-pledges-2021-1-1029964594\">$85 billion<\/a> in coal assets as of January last year, BlackRock has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/us\/individual\/about-us\/road-to-net-zero\">emphasized its commitment<\/a> to reaching net-zero carbon emissions, a near-term pledge incompatible with a flourishing energy industry reliant on instantaneous power provided by fossil fuels. The commitment while fostering Chinese investment has prompted well-founded skepticism about whether BlackRock has the best interests of its clients at stake.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the educational nonprofit Consumers\u2019 Research unveiled a multi-million-dollar campaign to expose BlackRock\u2019s close ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The watchdog published a new website on BlackRock\u2019s CEO, <a href=\"https:\/\/whoislarryfink.com\/\">WhoIsLarryFink.com<\/a>, and debuted new ads for TV and radio complemented by mobile billboards in New York City, where the firm is headquartered.  <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"SxoTawuBM0EVQzLAekymDIPn675f8YZJ1R2tv9NcGs4l3jOdi\"><\/p>\n[embedded content]\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cLarry Fink and BlackRock are really delivering a one-two punch to the American economy,\u201d Consumers\u2019 Research Executive Director Will Hild told The Federalist. \u201cOne the right hand they\u2019re using the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) scam to hamper American companies and make it harder to serve American consumers, on the left hand they\u2019re funneling billions of dollars to the Chinese communist owned business to help them build the Chinese economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The campaign comes on the heels of a letter Hild sent in December to 10 governors, including West Virginia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/blackrock-china-consumers-research-warning\">warning<\/a> both consumers and governments about BlackRock\u2019s relationship with China, where the leading investment firm has made cultivating Chinese assets a priority. Fink admitted that much in his 2020 letter to shareholders at the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI continue to firmly believe China will be one of the biggest opportunities for BlackRock over the long term, both for asset managers and investors, despite the uncertainty and decoupling of global systems we\u2019re seeing today,\u201d Fink <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20200330231235\/https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/corporate\/investor-relations\/larry-fink-chairmans-letter\">wrote<\/a> in a passage now deleted from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/corporate\/investor-relations\/larry-fink-chairmans-letter\">letter<\/a> currently on the company\u2019s website. By August of the same year, BlackRock was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/blackrock-gets-go-ahead-for-a-mutual-fund-business-in-china-11598687419\">awarded<\/a> the first entirely foreign-owned mutual fund operating in China.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackRock\u2019s funneling of billions in U.S. capital to China carries with it risks not present in other markets, risks that threaten the large wagers the company is putting on steep returns from the Middle Kingdom,\u201d Hild warned governors late last year. \u201cChinese firms are not held to the same transparency standards as their western counterparts, so foreign investors are often hard pressed to appreciate the true risk profile of what they\u2019re investing in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than $75 billion in pension funds among the states reporting such data, meanwhile, remain in BlackRock\u2019s hands,<a href=\"https:\/\/consumersresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Consumer-Warning-BlackRock.pdf\"> according<\/a> to Consumers\u2019 Research.<\/p>\n<p>Some conservative policymakers have begun to heed Hild\u2019s warning, motivated also by Wall Street\u2019s growing ideological hostility to fossil fuels. Beyond Moore\u2019s efforts in West Virginia, lawmakers in Texas and Florida have also made moves to counteract BlackRock\u2019s undue influence.<\/p>\n<p>In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/2021\/12\/20\/governor-ron-desantis-takes-action-against-communist-china-and-woke-corporations\/\">moved<\/a> to strip proxy vote power over state finances from companies that foster investment in China while managing taxpayer dollars. That would include BlackRock, which oversees billions from Florida\u2019s pensions and investment funds. <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/red-blue-blackrock-larry-fink-150000184.html\">According<\/a> to Bloomberg, BlackRock held $227 million in a fund focused on Chinese markets in late June.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state pension plan has also invested in separate private equity and investment funds with exposure to China in particular,\u201d Bloomberg reported. <\/p>\n<p>Further west in Texas, the company hired a team of lobbyists in Austin to protect its more than $20 billion handled as legislators prepare to follow Moore\u2019s lead in withdrawing state business from the New York firm. After years of railing against fossil fuels in the name of politically correct investment practices, corporate executives are now engaged in double-speak to protect its access to public funds. <\/p>\n<p>In January, Alex Epstein, the founder of Industrial Progress and author of \u201cThe Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,\u201d reported company leaders sent a memo reassuring lawmakers who govern the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/714376\/crude-oil-production-by-us-state\/\">top oil producer<\/a> in the country of BlackRock\u2019s commitment to back the industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will continue to invest in and support fossil fuel companies, including Texas fossil fuel companies,\u201d read the memo sent at the start of the year. Weeks later, Fink <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/corporate\/investor-relations\/larry-fink-ceo-letter\">wrote again<\/a> of the CEO\u2019s desire for BlackRock to play a prominent role in achieving net-zero emissions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"NnNJvssnSqwRVq6fD28z957i5LWBEaOUxDZ1QyZrIlCXJrOzmPu4TGlktLM03gcTYiM4p9boA8YfgQ\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BlackRock&#8217;s Larry Fink is the #1 leader in the financial world for the economically baseless idea that the global economy should and will be net-zero by 2050. This idea would mean the rapid and total or near-total destruction of the oil and gas industry.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BB6ld9fjzA\">https:\/\/t.co\/BB6ld9fjzA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2SYMx93Tl3\">pic.twitter.com\/2SYMx93Tl3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexEpstein\/status\/1483474518823747585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s not just BlackRock beginning to feel the heat from proactive lawmakers moving to protect their constituents\u2019 tax dollars from being used against them. All banks that spurn fossil fuels run the risk of alienating their relationships with state governments. In November, Moore led a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/30\/15-states-threaten-to-pull-600-billion-from-banks-that-wont-give-equal-service-to-energy-industry\/\">coalition<\/a> of 15 states pledging to park $600 billion in taxpayer assets in other institutions than those that bar investment in the industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust as each state represented in this letter is unique in its governing laws and economy, our actions will take different forms,\u201d they wrote. \u201cHowever, the overarching objective of our actions will be the same \u2013 to protect our states\u2019 economies, jobs, and energy independence from these unwarranted attacks on our critical industries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Moore\u2019s $1.5 billion pulled from BlackRock last month might not be a sizeable figure for a $10 trillion-dollar firm, $600 billion remains nothing to blink at. <\/p>\n<p>Other Republicans leading major oil-producing states, such as state treasurers in Ohio and Oklahoma, have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/12\/06\/why-are-oil-rich-states-run-by-republicans-absent-from-coalition-against-woke-capitalism\/\">remained apathetic<\/a> as the movement grows to deter Wall Street financial firms from weaponizing taxpayer dollars against American taxpayers.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>West Virginia Republican Treasurer Riley Moore axed his state\u2019s relationship with BlackRock last month over the $10 trillion investment firm\u2019s dual loyalty to Chinese interests and woke capitalism. \u201cAs &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}