Red states pushback against woke Wall Street

 Reuters:

Republican-led states have unleashed a policy push to punish Wall Street for taking stances on gun control, climate change, diversity and other social issues, in a warning for companies that have waded in to fractious social debates.

Abortion rights are poised to be the next frontier.

This year there are at least 44 bills or new laws in 17 conservative-led states penalizing such company policies, compared with roughly a dozen such measures in 2021, according to a Reuters analysis of state legislative agendas, public documents and statements.

While some of the individual moves have been reported, the scale and speed at which such "anti-woke" state laws and policies are ballooning and the challenges they are creating for Wall Street companies is detailed here for the first time.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "woke" as being aware of and actively attentive to issues of racial and social justice, but it is often used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies. The term has gained traction as America has become more politically polarized over issues from racial justice and LGBTQ rights to the environment and COVID-19 vaccines.

Reuters counted bills considered and state laws passed in 2021 and 2022, although some state officials are also using executive powers to punish Wall Street.

The growing restrictions show how America's culture wars are creating new risks for some of the most high-profile U.S. companies, forcing them to balance pressure from workers and investors to take stances on hot-button issues with potential backlash from conservative policymakers.

West Virginia and Arkansas this year, for example, stopped using BlackRock Inc for certain services, due to its climate stance, according to West Virginia's Republican treasurer Riley Moore and Arkansas media reports.

In Texas, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have been sidelined from the municipal bond market due to laws passed last year barring firms that "boycott" energy companies or "discriminate" against the firearms industry from doing new business with the state.
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Left-wing woke policies are becoming a negative and deservedly so.  There are alternatives to left-wing activist companies and it is likely to grow business opportunities in red states.

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