Public Pensions, ESG, DeSantis, and The Catholic Church

STUMP - Meep on public finance, pensions, mortality and more is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Episode Links:July 27, 2022 Press Release: Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Initiatives to Protect Floridians from ESG Financial FraudGovernor DeSantis’ proposed legislation for the 2023 Legislative Session will:Prohibit big banks, credit card companies and money transmitters from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs.Prohibit State Board of Administration (SBA) fund managers from considering ESG factors when investing the state’s money.Require SBA fund managers to only consider maximizing the return on investment on behalf of Florida’s retirees.August 2017: Public Pension Assets: It's Not Your Money to Play With, Pension Trustees  The Catholic Spirit, July 2022: Vatican investments must follow Catholic social teaching, new policy saysThe Pillar, July 2022:THE WISDOM OF FINANCEApril 2018: Mornings with Meep: The Wisdom of Finance and Failure is Always a Possible Outcome  The Wisdom of Finance, by Mihir Desai, is a really interesting book – a fast read (only 5 CDs for the audiobook, less than 200 pages on small pages), chock full of references to history, literature, and even hip-hop.I reviewed the book at Goodreads:Appealing to a wide variety of audiences — it makes core financial concepts comprehensible for non-finance people, and it connects finance people with a broader view from the humanities. Desai takes a denigrated subject, even by some of its own practitioners, and makes it more human (with all the bad and good that entails.) He uses examples from history, literature, art, poetry, movies, TV, and even song lyrics (She take my money when I’m in need…)For those concerned: VERY LITTLE MATH. There is a small amount of arithmetic when Desai explains leverage. But other than that, he keeps it at a high conceptual level.This book is more a jumping off point, though – it’s very short. It gives you a taste, which may leave one hungering for more. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author himself), and therefore don’t have the notes from the back! So I’m going to have to get a hard copy so I can get at those. I really want to read more about how annuities helped foment the French Revolution.And yeah, that’s why I checked out the book from the library. He gives multiple references for that… also, there’s a paper on the connection between insurance and witchcraft (as in: once you could insure your home, you were less likely to burn a witch just because your house burned down.)Society of Actuaries, The Stepping Stone: Book Review: The Wisdom of Finance Get full access to STUMP - Meep on public finance, pensions, mortality and more at marypatcampbell.substack.com/subscribe