Corporate Accountability

I have long believed that we, the taxpayers of Massachusetts, can and should take a greater role in making sure that the assets we hold are invested responsibly. Long before Enron and WorldCom became household names, I urged that our investments should reflect our social values and they should be used to insist that corporations adhere to standards that strengthen our economy. We can use state pension laws to limit the capacity of unscrupulous corporate leaders to undermine our nationÕs economic health.

Twenty years ago, I worked to make sure that the stateÕs pension funds not be invested in a way that aided the continuation of the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. Shortly after that, the state put in place new standards for investing in Ireland, to respect the Catholic population living under a regime that failed to provide a guarantee of basic human rights.

Two years ago, I initiated a discussion about using the power of our pension investments, close to $26 billion, to further extend our principles of democracy and responsibility. I brought together professionals in the investment community, unions, women and racial minorities to draft new legislation and use administrative powers to demand that our investments be managed in a way that reflects our values. The group I convened continues to meet as the Committee on Corporate Accountability and Pension Funds.

I sent a letter this spring, signed by one of my colleagues, to the stateÕs PRIM board, urging it to adopt new standards for corporate accountability. I also sent the letter to some of the candidates for Governor and for state Treasurer. As the summer grew on , many of these ideas found their way into campaign plans. Action on some of these ideas seems likely.

I will continue to press for tougher standards and will file the toughest corporate accountability legislative package in the nation if re-elected. Click here to review my letter to the PRIM Board members.