Paul Mueller
A Short Guide to ESG: Goals
“ESG goals are not primarily about shareholder value and enterprise value. The goals are often counter to the interests of shareholders and large segments of society.” ~Paul Mueller
A Short Guide to ESG: Advocates
“I have categorized organizations by their function and highlighted a few organizations worth knowing in each category, from high-level, broad advocacy to nitty-gritty implementation.” ~Paul Mueller
A Short Guide to ESG: History
“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller
A Short ESG Guide: Terms
“While I have attempted to clarify the ESG advocates’ terms, the devil is in the details. One of the weakest parts of ESG is the ambiguity and disagreement, even among its advocates, as to how to define and measure many of their objectives.” ~Paul Mueller
A Short ESG Guide: Introduction
“What many find most troubling is how much social control will be exerted by undemocratic and anti-market forces with little accountability.” ~Paul Mueller
The Biden Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Rent-Seeking Play
“Political incentives being what they are, these evaluations of safety will be used to redirect and tweak AI models towards the priorities of the current administration.” ~Paul Mueller
Wishful (Protectionist) Thinking
“Specialization and productivity increase when the market’s size extends across national borders. But tariffs reduce the extent of the market and thereby reduce specialization.” ~Paul Mueller
Confusing Liberty with Power
“The oldest and fullest sense of liberty means freedom from coercion – that is, freedom to act according to your own plans and goals rather than according to someone else’s.” ~ Paul Mueller
Some Unpleasant Federal Reserve Arithmetic
“While the Fed is trying to remove the punch bowl with its left hand by raising interest rates, it is trying to put the punch bowl back with its right hand by adding $20+ billion each month in new money to the financial system and periodic ‘assistance’ programs adding even more liquidity to the market.”…
