After his landslide re-election victory, Governor Ron DeSantis declared that “Florida is where ‘woke’ goes to die!” Sure enough, the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Jimmy Patronis, recently announced the withdrawal of $2 billion of the state’s treasury funds from Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager.

Larry Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, has led the way towards environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors for a new approach to investment management. In fact, in his 2020 annual letter, Fink emphasized “making sustainability integral…launching new investment products that screen fossil fuels.” An energy-rich state like Oklahoma does not need to enrich this kind of thinking with taxpayer dollars.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gross Receipts to the Treasury for the past year set a new record high for the sixth consecutive month, but falling energy prices raise concerns about future collections, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel announced in a release today.

Twelve-month gross receipts through November are $17.36 billion, up by $2.44 billion, or 16.3 percent, from the prior 12 months. However, the monthly tax collections on oil and gas production fell below $160 million for the first time since April.

“The overall results continue to be strong,” said Treasurer McDaniel.