May 1, 2012
Dear members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
I am writing to urge the SEC to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC's web site.
The past 10 years have shown that publicly-traded corporations must operate transparently for the good of the markets, the shareholders, and the employees. It seems like every time a corporation is allowed to hide vital economic information - Enron, AIG, WorldCom, Bank of America, etc. etc. etc. - the resulting collapse is devastating, not only to the individual corporations but to the shareholders, the communities, and to the national economy.
And what could be more vital to the health and wellbeing of the nation than our political process?
Please require publicly traded companies to disclose the money they spend on political activities.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
Katherine Edman