Texas Boots Big Bank for This Policy

Per Bengtsson / shutterstock.com
Per Bengtsson / shutterstock.com

We all know there’s supposed to be a big separation between church and state or, in other words, the church and government. But nearly just as important is the separation between government and business. And when one or the other crosses the line, the other side has two options: roll over or push back.

For the state of Texas, they are pushing back.

The case comes as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his office have made an announcement banning a rather major financial institution from being involved in nearly all state-held bond transactions.

According to Reuters, Citigroup Inc. has taken a stance against Second Amendment rights and “discriminated against the firearms sector.” Because of this, Paxton and company no longer feel comfortable with the bank handling its affairs, most specifically underwriting most municipal bond offerings.

Now, for those of you not familiar with the financial sector, a municipal bonds ban be quite a big deal. In fact, one such transaction in the works is reportedly worth some $3.4 billion. Any bank would be proud to have that.

But thanks to their “ESG” policies, Citigroup is no longer a contender for the deal or the billions worth of future deals the state is likely to make with its competitors.

ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance investment practices, in which a number of financial institutions and other more “woke” companies are choosing to participate. By engaging in these policies, more progressive and liberal agenda items such as green energy and trans support are selected as investment opportunities over those that may support things like our Constitutional Second Amendment, freedom of speech, or even freedom of religion – even in the profits for the latter would greater.

Naturally, those who are more conservative or just appreciate our Constitutional rights aren’t too fond of these practices – you know, those like the Paxton.
While Citigroup was banned for not supporting Second Amendment rights, another bank, UBS Group AG, was similarly booted for boycotting the fossil fuel industry, according to Bloomberg.

Now, neither will get to add the whopping $3.4 billion deal to their asset list. According to the outlet, the deal is designed to help natural gas utilities suffering since the February 2021 winter storm that left most of Texas without power and heat. Instead of making up for those losses by skyrocketing energy bills throughout the state, the deal is supposed to spread out those payments over the next few decades.

And as the Western Journal pointed out, that’s precisely what the point of the government is: to protect its citizen rather than just raise profits.
Paxton knows that this goal means keeping political agendas out of business, especially when those businesses are trampling on the rights our government gives to all of us. He knows that if companies like Citigroup are allowed to discriminate based on politics, certain endeavors like gun ownership or even firearm production will suffer. And with no product, there is no Second Amendment right.

Similarly, if corporations like Direct TV are allowed to discriminate against channels like Newsmax and One America News (both far more conservative than CNN or MSNBC), then free speech or the ability to hear all sides of the story becomes impossible. And there goes our First Amendment.

The same be said for a massive number of other companies, schools, and even military forces. Should certain policies be enacted that only support one purview or another, and our nation suddenly becomes no longer free?

We won’t be free to bear arms, free to speak our minds, free to worship as we please, or even free to dream. There goes democracy and capitalism.

Leaders like Paxton know this is the real enemy, so he’s fighting against it, ensuring that those who won’t help him protect the people are held accountable or put to the fire.