Invest with moral compass

The Feb. 15 Motley Fool column in the Spokesman-Review suggested that income-seeking investors consider Philip Morris International. My initial reaction was that investors who seek such income have the moral compass of a trial lawyer with a narcotic addiction.

This reaction was only enhanced when I saw John Oliver’s HBO program broadcast that night. This satirical show incorporates investigative journalism that puts most purported news outlets to shame. The Feb. 15 episode covered Philip Morris International’s aggressive efforts to market cigarettes to youth in the developing world and to attack public health laws in poor countries that have much better things to do with their limited resources than fight a multinational bully.

So make a quick buck if you can look yourself in the mirror. Or, preferably, consider socially responsible investing. Perhaps the most noteworthy example involves divestment in apartheid South Africa, which was one of many factors ultimately leading to a constructive outcome. Current examples include institutions and pension funds refraining from investing in hedge funds (which serve largely to make filthy rich Wall Streeters even filthier) or fossil fuels, for obvious reasons.

Ronald Doyen

Spokane