This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

In 2021, the United States experienced 48,830 gun-related deaths, including murders, suicides, accidental deaths, and law enforcement incidents. Over the past decade, more than 167,000 people have died from gun violence , with 324,000 injured. These figures highlight the severe impact of gun violence on American society. As of 2024, there are approximately 82.88 million gun owners in the U.S., with 43% of households owning at least one firearm. The country has over 500 million civilian-owned firearms , reflecting a deep-rooted gun culture. Firearms typically cost between $400 and $800, with a median cost of around $600. Ammunition ranges from $0.08 to $3 per round, totaling between $80 and $3,000 for 1,000 rounds, with a median cost of approximately $1,540. Gun range fees vary from $10 to $50 per hour, totaling between $120 and $600 for 12 visits, with a median cost of around $360. Therefore, the rough median estimate for buying and using a firearm multiple times per year, excluding...

  Here's a comprehensive approach to mass shootings: Tax guns and ammo proportional to their potential harm. Higher for high-capacity firearms or large quantities of ammo. Special tax on individuals who own more than 5 guns. Revenue used for gun safety education, mental health and law enforcement. GPS locator requirement: require all new firearms to be equipped with a GPS locator, including 3D printed guns. Older guns must be retrofitted to be legal. Track lost or stolen firearms, monitor the movement of guns in high-risk areas. Privacy addressed by limiting access to this information. As part of this, credit card companies should track sales of firearms and ammunition. Insurance requirement: all gun owners must have liability insurance to cover potential damages caused.  Universal background checks: Implement comprehensive background checks for all firearm purchases, including private sales and gun shows.  Mandatory waiting period. Allow family members and law enfor...

More Fortune 500 companies are located in Texas than in any other state. Texas successfully used low taxes and minimal regulations as bait to recruit companies like Tesla and Oracle. The state promoted these “advantages” in ads highlighting their “free-market” environment and criticizing the "tax and spend policies of liberal leadership" in Democrat-run states. Four million people migrated to Texas over the past ten years. Our economic models predict a reversal, however. State of Texas corporations on the Fortune 1000 list generate $2.2 trillion in revenue, $158 billion in profit. They have a market value of $3.8 trillion and employ 2.5 million people nationwide. We continue to believe this increased corporate presence in Texas imposes a tax on the nation as a whole. Texas allows anyone 21 or older to carry handguns without training or licenses, and maintains lower gun purchase age limits. Beyond the recent abortion bill, which allows people to sue those who "aid and abe...

Whether the issue being discussed is climate change, abortion rights, civil rights, or something else, there is no doubt that corporations can have a major effect on the implementation of policy. There is perhaps no area where this is more apparent than the issue of gun violence and mass shootings. This potential for change exists because of multiple factors. First, hundreds of mass shootings have taken place over the course of the past decade, with little to no action taken to prevent them. At the federal level, gun control legislation has been non-existent since the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004. Additionally, action to address this issue has been limited at the state and local level. This is where the power of corporations comes into play. Any company has the power to decide that they no longer want to run their business in a state or city that refuses to comply with safety standards deemed  necessary. The safety standard might refer to gun violence or to...