January 25, 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.
One of the slogans on a recent Occupy event we attended said "We used to have elections. Now we have auctions." The influence of corporate money on the way Congress votes and their proposals may be the single most important issue today. Of course, campaign financing largely drives the influence and needs to be changed. I believe protecting the environment is very important, also, and corporate greed drives the opposition to the EPA.
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.
Constance Birch
Staunton, VA