Jan. 11, 2024
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a rule that would enable radical environmentalists in the Biden administration to sell off management control to the Chinese Communist Party and other investors federal lands, water and even air through so-called “Natural Asset Companies” (NACs) on the condition that they would preclude virtually any productive use of such resources. Private landowners may also be impacted. We have until January 18th to oppose this stealthy effort to sell-off – and sell-out – America. We must act NOW! There are numerous problems with this scheme. In a powerful indictment of the sneaky way in which Team Biden and its allies at the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange are trying to engineer a new and ominous means of imposing their “green” agenda on the rest of us, Margaret Byfield warned in Real Clear Markets recently that: • These [NAC] companies would be given license to control lands, both public and private, and would be required not to conduct any “unsustainable activities, such as mining, that lead to the degradation of the ecosystems…. Sovereign nations, such as the United States Government, can provide their lands to private investors, including those outside the United States. China, for example, may be able to invest in a NAC and effectively be a stakeholder in our national parks. Russia could assume control of lands currently leased to produce oil and place them off limits for future natural resource development. • NACs would prevent the productive use of the land, which would hurt the landowners financially, but also reduce the supply of minerals, food, and other goods that come from the land. • How might a company make control of land profitable while also not using the land? The method is admittedly confusing, perhaps intentionally. They profit from “ecological performance” such as “conservation, restoration, or sustainable management.” These NACs would quantify and monetize these natural outputs (such as air or water). The best comparison would be using the air we breathe as a cryptocurrency of sorts. And, these natural assets that collectively belong to all of us would now belong to corporations run by what many would call environmental special interests. • Traditional accounting standards would not be used to regulate NACs. Likely, this is because NACs would not withstand scrutiny under generally accepted accounting principles. • This effort would be a huge windfall for the federal government and the NACs. The government would create an entirely new revenue stream that would solely benefit the Davos-type [World Economic Forum] crowd that gives the current administration support. Both Big Government and radical environmentalists stand to benefit. • These efforts intentionally prioritize environmentalism over human flourishing. [Prospective auditors] admit that “producing these essential goods and services and managing resources wisely is as valuable, or perhaps even more valuable, than the food production.” If all this sounds crazy, it is. Crazy like a fox. And, if the Biden administration and its allies have their way, this craziness will translate shortly after January 18th into the further “fundamental transformation” of the United States into a country in which property rights and other personal freedoms are stripped from us in a “global reset” that consolidates power and wealth in the tyrannical hands of unelected, oppressive oligarchs and bureaucrats. Say “No” to selling off and selling out America! Take two minutes to take action and email your Congressional representatives and the NYSE's ESG Director. RESOURCES: Beware the SEC's Creation of 'Natural Asset' Companies, by Margaret Byfield, Real Clear Markets, Dec. 1, 2023 | https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2023/12/01/beware_the_secs_creation_of_natural_asset_companies_996044.html Public Comments: on proposed Rule SR-NYSE-2023-09 https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nyse-2023-09/notice-filing-proposed-rule-change-amend-nyse-listed-company-manual-adopt#no-back Extension on Comments Until January 18, 2024 | Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Order Instituting Proceedings To Determine Whether To Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the NYSE Listed Company Manual To Adopt Listing Standards for Natural Asset Companies A Notice by the Securities and Exchange Commission on 12/28/2023 | https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/28/2023-28611/self-regulatory-organizations-new-york-stock-exchange-llc-order-instituting-proceedings-to-determine