January 18, 2012
I am deeply concerned about the influence of corporate money on our electoral process.
In particular, I am appalled that, because of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, publicly traded corporations can spend investor's money on political activity in secret.
I am writing to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission 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.
One of the SEC's jobs is to project individuals from corporate misbehavior. It seems to me that the biggest form of corporate misbehavior in current America is the buying of elections with corporate dollars. By telling individuals how corporations are doing that, you can help us stop it.
Thank you for considering my comment.
K Hindall
Ithaca, NY