A drone view of the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in Martinez, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
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CalPERS’ responsibility
is also to taxpayers
Re: “Pension investments in fossil fuels are not only futile, but dangerous” (Page A6, May 2).
Once again, the Mercury News has chosen to print an opinion piece from a CalPERS beneficiary demanding the pension fund divest from a disfavored corporation, in this case, ExxonMobil.
As a taxpayer, I have these thoughts. If public employees had 401(k)s instead of taxpayer-guaranteed pensions, they could invest money as their conscience dictates. I support the transition from fossil fuels, but CalPERS is grossly underfunded, and the state has a massive budget deficit. Until CalPERS is fully funded (and even then) it is inappropriate for beneficiaries to dictate to the fiduciaries how to invest. Fiduciaries must consider the interests of the taxpayers and the state as well as retirees.
Also, if CalPERS and other large public pension funds were to divest and succeed in driving down the price of ExxonMobil stock, other willing buyers would step in. The price would not stay depressed.
David Reynolds
Scotts Valley
Anti-BDS law ties
schools to Israel’s deeds
Re: “Calls for universities to divest from Israel impeded by state law” (Page A1, April 28).
This California “anti-BDS” law raises some disturbing questions. Under AB 2844, how many California universities and colleges are locked into financial ties with the Israeli military, with clear evidence of dthe genocide of Palestinians in Gaza? Recently the Netanyahu administration announced that they will “finish the job” in Rafah in Gaza, ostensibly to destroy Hamas terrorists.
Reportedly, as of January 2024, 37 states have passed “anti-BDS” laws, which seem to be based on the false premise that equates opposition to the state of Israel with antisemitism. A government is not a religion. American educational institutions and individuals should have the freedom to make decisions on divestment and financial relations with governments and other political entities.
Repeal AB 2844 now.
Diane Secor
Campbell
State must strengthen
rules on plastic use
Re: “Earth Day: A look at what’s being done to decrease plastic use” (April 19).
Plastics are a threat to ocean health but also to human health as nanoplastics have been found in the human placenta, breast milk and heart. They’re projected to take up between 10%-15% of the U.S. carbon budget by 2050, making them a crucial climate issue, too.
Consumers can help, but it’s ineffective to place the onus on them when living a plastic-free life is nearly impossible. California is implementing SB 54, an extended producer responsibility bill that shifts the burden of waste management for single-use plastics off of consumers (taxpayers) and onto producers (big oil). However, folding to industry lobbying, the bill includes an exemption for “single-use material that presents unique challenges in complying,” which weakens its potential impact significantly.
Stronger legislation statewide and at the local level (for example, Marin County’s strict ban on single-use foodware plastics) is imperative to address our role in the plastic crisis.
Jacqueline Walsh
Sunnyvale
Return to normal politics
better than tit for tat
Re: “Presidential immunity would apply to Biden” (Page A6, May 1).
Myokyaw Myint thinks that a pre-emptive, tit-for-tat action by Joe Biden would be a win-win. This might seem to be a good plan if all you care about is winning, as Trump and his MAGA base seem to think.
Unfortunately, I would look at that action as a lose-lose. What we really need now is a return to what we considered normal before Trump. It would be best if we could put the absurd immunity issue behind us and look forward to rational government.
Bill Rosenberg
Kings Mountain
Democrats must expand
message beyond abortion
The Democrats endlessly lament the Dobbs decision that severely impacts the right to an abortion and affects about a million women annually. Yet the threat to our planet caused by methane, which is more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, impacts us all.
And 65 million Medicare enrollees, and traditional Medicare, are threatened by Medicare Advantage plans that receive billions of dollars in overpayments annually while delaying and denying care.
But these facts are ignored by most Democratic representatives who raise millions of dollars from supporters by promoting the abortion issue and raise millions of dollars from special interests by remaining silent about the far more serious threats posed by methane and Medicare Advantage.
Remind your representative that if they want your vote, they must forego corporate PAC donations. Let’s not elect those who through their silence are complicit in the destruction of our planet and valued institutions.
Anne Bossange
Saratoga