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.
Furthermore, as a consumer, we should have the right to sign off on having any of our money go towards political funding. Just like when you sign up for a credit card, there is a box you can check to keep your name from not being sold to telemarketers, the same should be done in this instance.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Vanessa Lenk
Coventry, RI