Governor DeSantis of Florida was giving a speech at a Moms for Liberty event. Right in the middle of this, the crowd received emails that PayPal had frozen the accounts and they could not receive donations.
I’m thinking DeSantis was a bit pissed off about this.
DeSantis has announced legislation for the 2023 Legislative Session that will take a stand against banks and fund managers using the “woke” environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG). The ESG criteria are used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments. It will:
– Prohibit big banks, credit card companies and money transmitters from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs.
– Prohibit State Board of Administration (SBA) fund managers from considering ESG factors when investing the state’s money.
– Require SBA fund managers to only consider maximizing the return on investment on behalf of Florida’s retirees.
After the Governor’s announcement, Paypal, without explanation, turn the accounts of Moms for Liberty back on.
Here are some comments from the Governor:
“Do we govern ourselves through our constitution and through our elections or do we have these masters of the universe occupying these commanding heights of society?”
“They’re using things like social credit scores to be able to marginalize people that they don’t like,”
“Do we want our society to be governed by some of the most economically elite and powerful interests in society?” DeSantis asked. “And I think our economy is going to be much better off if everything is not politicized. It used to be it wasn’t a political issue.”
The governor said these criteria are used to target “disfavored” individuals and industries to advance a “woke” ideological agenda.
Banks, credit cards and money transfer services “should not be colluding with one another to marginalize people that they have political disagreements with. That is not the way you can run an economy effectively.”
If DeSantis does indeed get this passed, it sets an example for other states and will likely be adopted where Republicans hold power.
PayPal Unfreezes Moms for Liberty Funds After DeSantis Announces Crackdown on ‘Woke’ Banking
DeSantis plans to fight ‘woke ideology’ of Paypal and other financial services