I always thought the notion "get woke go broke" was too simplistic. This makes a little more sense but I feel there still has to be a profit motive behind all these companies apparently lining up to commit financial suicide. I wonder if it's about driving the stock price down to shake out the small-time investors so the big investment firms can buy up more before the price rebounds. That would seem to fit the trend of aggressive centralisation that we've seen in recent years.
FYI vanguard backed out of the ESG stuff a while ago and are now one of the best choices but continue to get slandered in the press.
Blackrock *is* the main source of this, but I'm fairly certain that even if Fink himself actually believes in all of this stuff, the real original push came from the US deep state which handed him all of the free money to start this.
I heard that explanation floated for why crime is being allowed to get so out of hand in some cities: businesses move out, commercial real estate tanks, connected interests buy up the property.
One idea for what's driving "get woke go broke" is just that companies implemented degree requirements for important positions, colleges indoctrinated woke ideology, corporate decisions became woke.
A more nefarious idea is that the agenda is being pushed because it's so socially divisive and powerful interests are concerned about rising populist sentiments. They can afford to sacrifice a few brands if it keeps people from turning against the entire corrupt system that enriches them.
Your point about real estate makes a lot of sense. Obviously there are a lot of true believers out there but you have to assume it's all get shut down quick smart if someone wasn't making money.
The universities definitely have a lot to answer for, but the pseudo soviet structure than most corporations are based on facilitates all this as well since most people who actually work within the organisation are concerned with personal power and identity politics is the best way to rise up the ranks.
And I agree strongly with your final point - the war against populism is the main driver behind everything we've seen since the Occupy/Tea Party movements and it's gone into overdrive since 2016.
Beating the life out of the inner cities is only phase one. Phase two will be after the redevelopment into Agenda 2030 human habitation zones, when they drive everybody back out of the countryside into the cities.
Part of the issue with corporate structure definitely comes from various labor regulations, which are very unclear, so they just play it safe and over promote as many minority groups as they can.
Another part of the internal wokeness of corporations is due to the knowledge that it prevents unionization. There was an Amazon-Whole Foods memo to that effect leaked recently. Identity obsessed workers can't cooperate enough to form unions.
Notice the companies that are caught between a rock and a hard place. They all provide we would consider solid dependable, timeless bedrock products that have been familiar friends to us since the beginning of time. I mean - Mickey Mouse FFS. Lego. Gillette. It won't be long before Coca Cola comes in rainbow cans, I guarantee it. So when the government itself starts going woke - as it has - what is it somebody expects us to do? Ditch the government. And who benefits?
It seems to be a by-product of the fact that no one really OWNS a company any more. Lots of people profit from it but no one has any real stake in its long term survival - and there are plenty of ways to make a profit at the end of the day. Simply selling quality products is so old fashioned.
I’ve noticed that portions of the market move together in 5% daily changes. How much money do you figure Aladdin is making old Fink by using the vast capital it controls to manipulate entire market sectors? How much do you figure JP Morgan pays for the API to that algorithm? Buy 100 billion in energy and consumer goods today 0837, sell by 1623, guaranteed 5% gain. It’s the biggest pump and dump scheme ever. Buy into a Vanguard ETF and forget about it. There is no recourse and it’s the best you’re going to do. There is no independent market analysis that is relevant when an AI is literally calling the shots on a global scale.
