In early December we explained how the Securities and Exchange Commission, under President Trump‘s handpicked Chairman Paul Atkins (pictured above at his swearing-in), has washed its hands of resolving disputes between public companies and their shareholders when it comes to whether they must consider proposals at their annual meetings. In an October speech in Delaware, Atkins firmly placed the SEC on the side of the corporations in such disagreements, putting its thumb on the scale in favor of letting them snub investors who want to raise concerns with executives and directors.
Today in The Daily Signal, reporter Fred Lucas explains further the potential consequences of Chairman Atkins’s coziness with pro-woke companies:
The Securities and Exchange Commission could make it tougher for shareholders to challenge left-leaning corporate policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as environmental issues, a conservative watchdog group asserts.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins in November suggested making it easier for corporations to block shareholder proposals from being heard and voted on at annual shareholder meetings…
…in a 10-page letter to Atkins shared with The Daily Signal, National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty argued that conservatives have successfully challenged DEI, and ESG–short for environment, social governance–policies at large, publicly traded companies.
Atkins’ proposals could remove the very tools conservatives used to stop these policies, he added.
“We share your concerns about the proliferation of proposals that appear to advance irrelevant ideological agendas. However, the solution cannot be to dismantle the mechanism itself,” Flaherty wrote.
NLPC’s letter to Atkins can be viewed here. As The Daily Signal reported, we argued to the Chairman that by short-cutting the shareholder proposal process, he is preventing voices from reaching corporate management:
“When Chairman Atkins suppresses the dissent of shareholders and makes corporate managers less accountable, he is not supporting our side,” Flaherty told The Daily Signal. “The managerial class is overwhelmingly liberal. They know each other, went to the same schools, and serve on each other’s boards.”
“Taking on DEI, ESG, and stopping debanking are all part of the president’s agenda,” Flaherty added. “It’s a shame [Atkins] is undercutting our efforts.”
Read the full article at The Daily Signal here.
