Sooooo, with the Pension Tsunami bearing down on California state and local governments, our crackerjack State Treasurer John Chiang has a new proposal — to dramatically reduce the nation’s sexual harassment by mandating demographic “diversity” quotas for the boards of directors of our nation’s corporations. Say what??
Isn’t our California state legislature and its employees HIGHLY diversified — controlled by Democrat leaders who champion women’s rights? How’s that working out?
Hint: It’s not. Sexual harassment is rife in our state legislature.
BTW, with well over 100 women coming forward with complaints in the state legislature, apparently not ONE Republican has been cited to date. Doubtless one or more Republicans will ultimately be accused, but clearly the OVERWHELMING percentage of sexural harassment charges are being leveled against the diversity-obsessed crowd.
Chiang demands a DE FACTO quota system for the boards of any corporation that CalPERS or CalSTRS invests in. He touts some complicated formulas involving race, gender and sexual preference percentages. He’s not very clear about what those requirements should be. It’s the thought that counts. HIS thought.
BACKGROUND: The power of pension funds has grown dramatically, as government gains control of more and more shares of stock in America. For years I’ve been warning that with the huge pension funds controlled by government, that may well be the back door to imposing socialism. After all, socialism is defined as “the social ownership and democratic control of the means of production.” it doesn’t require ACTUAL ownership of the companies — just the CONTROL of the companies. All-encompassing regulation is one method. Controlling who sits on the boards is another, less obvious method.
Chiang wants to employ the nuclear option — threatening to use pension fund-held shares to vote out all board members who don’t actively support his quota system (and whatever other mandates he deems appropriate).
Sooooo, what does this race/sex quota mandate have to do with sexual harassment? According to Chiang, somehow this mandated diversity will greatly discourage abuse of women. Beats me how. He presents zero evidence of any such connection between diversity and sexual abuse.
More important, he’s expanding the idea that shareholders (well, those who CONTROL the shares) should be interested in anything the corporation does — except making profits. The shares of the pension fund, supposedly run for the benefit of pensioners and taxpayers, will instead be laser-focused on PC diktats which if anything have a negative effect on future corporate profits — and thus share prices.
This mentality has already shown up with shareholder activists trying to impose environmental mandates, overseas investment and spending mandates, “public service” mandates, etc. These social engineering mandates know no limits.
According the “thinking” of these wild-eyed progressives, corporations can do all this without harming the bottom line. When pigs fly, perhaps. Actually, not even then.
What’s driving Chiang? He is seeking to become the governor of the most batshit crazy state in America in the upcoming 2018 election.
https://johnchiang.com/
To be the governor of this left wing state, you have to establish that you are a younger version of Jerry Brown — only significantly further to the left. He faces stiff competition from other doctrinaire liberals.
This new proposal by Chiang is intended to distract the gullible California electorate — vainly attempting to draw attention away from the crushing pension problems now descending on just about every government and agency in the state. As Treasurer, Chiang has been a BIG part of that problem, so now he needs to “refocus” voters and the press on the diversity issue and sexual harassment. Anything to keep the unfunded pension liabilities off the front page.