ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Joe Biden has just used his presidential perch to order the nation’s companies to obey and abide by strict government regulations tied to environmentalism and climate change. He’s just used his presidential powers to order an end to America’s free markets and with it, Americans’ financial freedoms — and with all that, America’s complete spiral into open socialism.
Oh, not directly.
The executive order itself applies to the government agencies that regulate and oversee insurance companies, investments and pensions, lenders — lenders who ultimately loan to farmers and home buyers and home builders and the like. The executive order itself applies to the secretary of Treasury; to the secretary of Labor; to the director of the Office of Management and Budget; to the director of the National Economic Council; to the secretaries of Agriculture, and of Housing and Urban Development, and of Veterans Affairs.
The executive order itself calls on all these key players and more to come up with a risk assessment of how climate change impacts their particular areas of coverage, their specific missions in government. And the executive order suggests the definition of climate risk is anything that gets in the way of the Biden administration achieving zero emissions by 2050.
“It is therefore the policy of my administration to … achieve our target of a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050,” the order stated.
But what does all that mean for the average American?
It means this: a total government takeover of the American free market, leading to a total government regulatory control on the American free citizen.
Behind closed doors, based on these bureaucrats’ risk assessments and climate change findings, businesses will be forced to comply with Biden’s radical and socialist-driven environmental agenda, else lose the ability to compete. Here’s how, in part, it will go down: Under this order, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, chaired by the Treasury secretary, chaired right now by Janet Yellen, and tasked with the power to determine and “constrain excessive risk in the financial system,” has 180 days to issue a report to Biden about all the ways to integrate climate change consideration into the financial sector, to include — in the words of the order — “the necessity of any actions to enhance climate-related disclosures by regulated entities to mitigate climate-related financial risk to the financial system or assets and a recommended implementation plan for taking those actions.”
Biden: Janet, how can we best inject climate change regulations into all of America’s financial sectors?
Yellen: Joe, I’ll get back to you in 180 days.
That’s what’s taking place in a nutshell.
From the Department of Treasury’s own website: “The Financial Stability Oversight Council … has important new authorities to constrain excessive risk in the financial system. For instance, the Council has the authority to designate a nonbank financial firm for tough new supervision to help minimize the risk of such a firm from threatening the stability of the financial system.”
Banks that want to loan will have to abide by the climate regulations set forth by government, else face “tough new supervision.” Corporations trading on Wall Street will have to abide — or face “tough new supervision.” Companies doing business with lenders will have to abide — or face “tough new supervision.” And ultimately, consumers will pay the price of these new climate controls — of these unbelievably pricey, burdensome, costs-of-complying new climate controls.
It’s a government regulatory takeover of the capitalistic system.
It’s socialism leading to utter decimation of the entrepreneurial spirit of America — the small business engine that chugs along the economy.
And after Biden and his band of merry Marxists accomplish this great reset of America’s economy, from free to Not Free, guess where their regulatory eyes turn to next?
To the consumer. To the individual. To the you’s and me’s of society. After all, you can’t have businesses that are cowed into complying with strict environmental regulations if you still have consumers that want products and services that have been identified by government as climate change risks.
Socialism? More like fascism. It’ll make the coronavirus clampdowns seem like the good ol’ days.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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