February 2, 2013
Dear Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
It's long past time to end secret political spending by corporations. So I strongly support the SEC issuing a rule in the near future that would require ALL corporations, publicly traded and otherwise, to publicly disclose all their spending on political activities.
Both shareholders and the public deserve to know how much a given corporation spends on politics (directly and through intermediaries), and which candidates are being promoted or attacked.
The gross situation which our Supreme Court has bestowed on America via the "Citizens United" decision, is a positive feedback mechanism which maximizes the leverage and power of greed: the richest persons and corporations are allowed to buy gangs of politicians who--in turn--confer more wealth on the already richest. Sooner or later positive feedback systems explode; that WILL happen to our political system if we allow the current arrangements to continue. There will be devastating consequences not just for our democracy, but for the global idea of democracy. It is time for WE the PEOPLE to repair this system, NOW.
Sincerely,
Clifford Slayman