NC state treasurer joins GOP’s wacky war on ‘woke’ investing | Opinion

North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell may fancy himself the keeper of the public purse, but he’s still a politician.

That much was apparent last week when Folwell called for the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, to resign or be removed out of concern for his “political agenda.” In a press release, Folwell cited a loss of confidence in BlackRock’s leadership due to its focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investing — something that Folwell, quoting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, called “wacktivism.”

Folwell is one of many GOP officials across the country pushing back against ESG, which is often derided as “woke capitalism.” ESG investing weighs social and environmental responsibility alongside financial returns when evaluating potential investments. BlackRock in particular is committed to sustainability and a transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. That, according to Folwell, is an attempt to “force the global warming agenda.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who promises that his state is “where woke goes to die,” successfully introduced a resolution banning the consideration of ESG criteria when investing state funds. Over in Texas, officials have directed the state’s pension funds to divest from any firms that “boycott energy companies.” And on a national level, Republicans have promised to use their new House majority to target ESG come January.

The average person has probably never heard of ESG before — but that’s largely the point. Much like critical race theory, ESG is a three-letter acronym for a somewhat nebulous term that the right has weaponized in its culture war. And as with much of the moral panic about “woke” culture, it’s less about an actual threat to society than it is about a backlash to progress — no matter how positive that progress may actually be.

“A focus on ESG is not a focus on returns, and potentially could force us to violate our own fiduciary duty of loyalty,” Folwell said in the press release.

Apparently, that “fiduciary duty” is more important than a moral duty to the planet and the health of the state’s own residents. As NC Policy Watch pointed out, North Carolina’s investment portfolio includes a number of companies with poor environmental track records, including Chemours, which has contaminated the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. Ironically, the state’s own attorney general has sued Chemours seeking damages for decades of contamination.

Folwell insists he’s not political — he’s mathematical. “There is no blue money or red money at the treasurer’s office, only green,” he said in the press release. But wading into a highly politicized debate seems like a pretty political thing to do, especially as he is reportedly considering a run for governor in 2024.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Folwell has used the Treasurer’s Office to advance conservative causes. Upon taking office in 2017, Folwell opted to exclude coverage of gender-affirming treatment from the State Health Plan, which insures more than 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents. A federal judge ordered the state to resume coverage of those treatments earlier this year, saying the health plan unlawfully discriminated against transgender people. (Folwell is appealing the court’s order.)

While Folwell loudly polices the investment decisions made by others, questions about financial decisions he has made as treasurer remain. As treasurer, Folwell shifted billions of dollars of pension money from equity funds into cash and bonds, an act that defied the recommendations of his staff. Now, the state’s pension fund holds a significant amount of its assets in cash, far more than similar public pension funds. While Folwell argues that it protects the fund against losses in times of economic downturn, it’s also caused the state to lose out on big stock market gains.

North Carolina didn’t elect Folwell to be the keeper of other people’s portfolios — we elected him to manage our own. Inserting North Carolina into silly political battles just makes the state look foolish.