Mike Pence
Mike Pence

Taking a cue from China's ministry of propaganda, president Trump has decreed that all federal comments about the coronavirus outbreak must be cleared by vice president Mike Pence.

That didn't work very well for China, which faces huge pushback from people upset that the government withheld information and silenced whistleblowers.

It isn't going to work here.

Trump's mandate, which muzzles federal scientists, apparently doesn't cover White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who told the Conservative Political Action Conference today;

“The flu kills people,” he said. “This is not Ebola. It’s not SARS, it’s not MERS. It’s not a death sentence, it’s not the same as the Ebola crisis.”

How do you know, Mick?

Ever the good Trump solider, Mulvaney believes the media are overplaying the threat from coronavirus because they are determined to bring down the president.

That's nonsense.

The global financial markets, including Wall Street, which is down 13 percent from last month's high, aren't in the tank because they've swallowed media hype.

Team Trump should spend more time trying to contain the coronavirus than in controlling science and the press.

Talk the talk. Now walk the walk. The Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that shareholders of companies that signed the Business Roundtable's pledge to address the needs of all stakeholders—not just the bottom line—can introduce resolutions at annual meetings to find out what exactly their companies are doing to live up to their CSR promises.

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock tried to block Business Roundtable pledge-related resolutions.

The Business Roundtable released its "Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation" to promote an economy for all Americans on Aug. 19, 2019. It was signed by 181 CEOs.

A BR spokesperson credited Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock for "making substantial investments in their customers, employees and communities, consistent with the statement."

Shareholders will find out how much was spent for the well being of the environment, communities, suppliers, customers and employees during the spring round of annual meetings.

They can then gauge whether it was money wisely spent.