May 9, 2013
Dear members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
Corporate political spending may be a constitutional right but anonymous corporate political spending isn't and can't be! The public has a right to know how much money corporations are spending in attempts to influence or elect public officials.
Additionally, shareholders have an absolute right and a dire need to know how their money is being used to influence or elect public officials. Every dollar contributed to a candidate or PAC is subtracted from the dividends shareholders earn. Shareholders especially have the right to know if money is being taken from their pockets to support a CEO's personal political agenda and not the best interests of the corporation.
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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Jim Polichak