March 29, 2014
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 investors' money 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.
Corporations are ficticious legal entities created by States in order to shield those who own the Corporation from liability. They should not be used to hide political funding. Stockholders and the Public have a right to know who or what those who run corporations donate corporate money to, and quickly too. Reports should be required to be publically disclosed within 30 days of the transfer of money, or the receipt of "in kind" support.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Murray