Once again, the Trump and Biden administrations have shown that the federal agencies originally established to protect American consumers are nothing more than conduits for deep state control, so it is vitally important that more states begin to avoid any federal control.
During the last two administrations, two of the world’s largest investment managers, Blackrock and Vanguard, were allowed to buy large stakes in local utilities, which is a problem because in most cases across the country, there is only one public service company that serves a wide swath of the population.
The Epoch Times reported:
In April, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a request by BlackRock to increase its ownership to 20 percent of the voting stock of a public company without considering “affiliate” and incur regulatory scrutiny and accompanying disclosures. To win FERC approval, BlackRock and Vanguard promised they would be “passive” investors and not use their shares to influence management.
Oh, well, well. They ‘promised’. But why else buy these utilities?
Because of the monopolistic nature of utilities and because they are so important to people’s lives, any investment over $10 million must be approved by FERC. However, as The Epoch Times noted, “BlackRock and Vanguard received blanket approval in 2019 to exceed that cap for three years, and BlackRock just received blanket approval for another three years.”
So this will make a total of six years that the federal agency created to protect against overinvestment in utilities has allowed huge investments in utilities, completely negating the purpose of the agency. And why? Money, of course, is always about money.
However, the investments have begun to set off alarm bells in the offices of state attorneys general, both conservative and liberal. Last month, 13 AGs petitioned FERC, apparently unsuccessfully, to deny the investment firms’ request for the three-year extension, arguing that their citizens would be harmed if the investment firms public services are forced to stop using fossil fuels instead of wind and solar. .
“Vanguard is not entitled to general authorization to acquire substantial equity and voting power in utility companies,” the AGs argued.
“Vanguard’s own public commitments and other statements have made it appear, at the very least, that Vanguard has broken its promises to the commission by engaging in environmental activism and using its financial influence to manipulate the activities of utilities from your wallet,” the request. said “A hearing in this matter is warranted to determine the extent to which Vanguard has violated the 2019 authorization and whether granting Vanguard a blanket authorization is contrary to the public interest.”
Some FERC officials echoed the concern. FERC Commissioner Mark Christie stated, “The claim that large asset managers such as BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard are merely passive investors in public corporations, investing solely for the benefit of their beneficiaries, many of whom they are retirees receiving pensions, it is no longer credible.
“BlackRock, in particular, has been overtly aggressive in using its massive financial power to influence corporate policy in areas that greatly dilute the legitimate money management goals of protecting the income and investment interests of its beneficiaries,” he said. add.
Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, which is chaired by Warren Buffett, agreed, saying in February that “we have a new set of emperors, and they’re the ones who vote the stocks in the index funds. I think the world of [BlackRock CEO] Larry Fink, but I’m not sure I want him to be my emperor.
Some FERC officials echoed the concern. FERC Commissioner Mark Christie stated, “The claim that large asset managers such as BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard are merely passive investors in public corporations, investing solely for the benefit of their beneficiaries, many of whom they are retirees receiving pensions, it is no longer credible.
“BlackRock, in particular, has been overtly aggressive in using its massive financial power to influence corporate policy in areas that greatly dilute the legitimate money management goals of protecting the income and investment interests of its beneficiaries,” he said. add.
Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, which is chaired by Warren Buffett, agreed, saying in February that “we have a new set of emperors, and they’re the ones who vote the stocks in the index funds. I think the world of [BlackRock CEO] Larry Fink, but I’m not sure I want him to be my emperor.
Republican senators agree.
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