June 10, 2012
When I buy stock in a company, I am using what should be the best available, good faith statement of the company's finances, in an attempt to invest wisely. When publicly traded corporations fail to reveal political spending, vitally important information is withheld from investors like me.
One cannot deny that political decisions that companies make can dramatically affect their appeal to consumers and business partners and make them vulnerable to market losses or ripe for market gains. Target, JC Penney, Pepsico and many more are examples of companies whose political adventures wound up hurting them, or for that matter, actually helping them make money.
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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
James Lee
San Jose, CA