This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Sounding long overdue and welcome words at his inauguration, President Biden has gotten off to a brilliant start. The new President signed thirty (30) executive orders in three days. One third directly reverse the policies of the prior Administration. As the first real first attempt by any Administration to address the COVID-19 crisis, we applaud the effort. What’s brilliant about these policies is the honest way they address the touchstone of American politics: race. One of the first Executive Orders issued by the Biden Administration mandated a “ comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all. ” The executive order requires the US Government to “identify the best methods, consistent with applicable law, to assist agencies in assessing equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability.” Finally, the order requires that “each agency...assess whether underserved communities and their members face systemic bar

(For the original June 11, 2016 post on LinkedIn, click here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xL15GdePWD_3nOJJT60nM4686gqq0yVU/view?usp=sharing  ) Our initial 2016 Election Fully Adjusted Return Forecast indicates that Donald J. Trump will win the election for the Presidency of the United States. This follows from one sufficient and one necessary condition.   The sufficient condition:   seventeen (17)   Republican states have enacted laws restricting access to the voting booth, restrictions so onerous as to defy both common sense and the spirit of democratic governance. These laws guarantee that the people who would vote against Mr. Trump will be blocked from participating in the election. For example, to vote in the State of Texas, a gun permit suffices. A college ID does not. So it is in 17 of 50 US States.  Game.  The movement to block access to voting has been a long term effort, a reaction to the election of the first African American president. Rather than effectively fighting

For the original 12/26/2016 post, see:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/16wkfCn1aD7iCw1VQaSaH48r8BzDW8Scs/view?usp=sharing  "Populism is a belief in the right of ordinary people, rather than political insiders, to rule." Trumpism, by contrast, operates on the presumption that ordinary white working class people are never going to get a chance to rule, no matter what, so they might as well disrupt the political process using the only tool left that is still available to them: the vote.  These are white, working class men and women who know that, by all intellectual and economic standards, they cannot win at the fixed "money game." So, egged on by wealthy bigots at Fox and Breitbart, they lash out at politicians, judges, Hispanics, scientists, teachers, Wall Street, universities, Blacks, the media, women, legislatures—even at elections. They are not interested in serious reform to the system. Under the enormous economic pressure of a rigged "free market" the

Our economic models are based on our December 26, 2016 forecast:  "Under any conceivable scenario, the current situation is very bad, and I mean toxic, for democratic institutions in general and for people of color specifically. Bottom line: our Fully Adjusted Return Forecast** indicates that, over time, things will get much, much worse....."   From: Trumpism.  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trumpism-william-michael-cunningham-am-mba/   Unfortunately, we were right. By January 6, 2021:  1. An administration-inspired violent insurrection attempted to prevent the Congress of the United States from certifying the result of the 2020 presidential election. This is, of course, the true nature of the republican party: racist, greedy, angry, entitled and violent. Black people know that crowd: it's the same mob seen at every lynching. The noose below was constructed at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.   2. A foreign government (Russia) attacked and compromised  all  critical fed

There can only be one reason for the events of January 6, 2021 - republican political culture officially sanctioned “insurrection, terrorism and treason.” A collection of racist and fascist sympathizers sought to murder the Vice President and members of Congress.  We discussed this eventuality on December 26, 2016: "Under any conceivable scenario, the current situation is very bad, and I mean toxic, for democratic institutions in general and for people of color specifically. Bottom line: our Fully Adjusted Return Forecast** indicates that, over time, things will get much, much worse....." From: Trumpism.   https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trumpism-william-michael-cunningham-am-mba/    Now, the power of right-wing lobbyists, conservative think tanks and fanatic media outlets have directed American public policy in support of extremism and militarism.  In order to understand what happened, we must recognize that   the   key motivational force was Trump’s call to violence. Only a