Why Divest?
Immoral to invest in China, the U.S. and states must divest from China now!
The federal government has recently determined that Chinese assets are not suitable to be included in the federal 401(k) retirement program known as the Thrift Savings Plan. Trump administration officials agree that this does not make sense, and in fact go so far as to strongly urge private and public universities to divest from unstable and risky Chinese assets.
Just three months ago, our nation’s National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow successfully argued against a proposal that would allow federal government employee 401(k) type retirement investments to invest in Chinese companies writing,“This action would expose the retirement funds to significant and unnecessary economic risk, and it would channel federal employees’ money to companies that present significant national security and humanitarian concerns because they operate in violation of U.S. sanction laws and assist the Chinese Government’s efforts to build its military and oppress religious minorities.”
Given this, why are these same assets allowed to remain hidden in private retirement plans and pensions? U.S. investors have more than $381 billion invested on Chinese and Hong Kong exchanges and bonds, according to the U.S. Treasury. In addition, 156 Chinese companies being listed on U.S. exchanges with a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Last month, State Department Undersecretary for Economic Growth Keith Krach wrote to our nation’s universities and colleges urging their divestment from Chinese assets stating, “Boards of U.S. university endowments would be prudent to divest from People’s Republic of China firms’ stocks in the likely outcome that enhanced listing standards lead to a wholesale de-listing of PRC firms from U.S. exchanges by the end of next year.”
And yet our private retirement accounts are put at risk through emerging market funds which put a significant amount of capital at risk in China.
A month ago, retired Vice Admiral John Poindexter, former Attorney General Ed Meese and former Senator John DeMint headlined a letter signed by more than 200 leaders urging Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to disqualify Chinese investments from private retirement accounts and pensions criticizing a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding engineered by then Vice President Joe Biden exempting Chinese companies from U.S. financial disclosure laws which, “put U.S. retirement investors at great risk.”
Secretary Scalia needs to act now to protect American private sector retirees from dangerous investments in Chinese companies, many of which are engaged in developing weapons designed to kill our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Others use slave-and-child labor to produce their goods, and owning those companies effectively make American retirees little more than Chinese slave holders.
And Securities and Exchange Commissioner Jay Clayton needs to immediately end the Biden Chinese free pass access to U.S. stock exchanges without having to meet even the most basic transparency standards.
I urge you to take steps today to pressure Clayton and Scalia to end the capitalization of dangerous, risky and immoral Chinese companies because as Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Kudlow wrote to the National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, “In light of these economic, national security, and humanitarian concerns, we ask that you and your board carefully consider whether the NRRI Trust is currently acting as an appropriate fiduciary for those hardworking Americans and retirees the RRB serves.”
Wall Street is Turning Americans into Chinese Slaveholders
Rick Manning, president of Americans for Limited Government, speaks at the Resist China Global Day of Action and calls on Americans to divest from China. DivestChinaNOw.org
