Jan. 16, 2020
Dear SEC Rule Comments, As an investor, I want accountability. My money is being used and my voice needs to be heard. It is unacceptable that the federal agency tasked with protecting investors is attempting to silence us. This kind of economic policy does not belong in our democracy. Corporations will not police themselves, and their focus on short-term gain over longterm sustainability often leads to dangerous shortcuts. Without regulatory agencies doing their due diligence, and without the ability for the public to act when considerations of safety, environment, and public health are concerned, investors and the general public will be put in danger. American investors and the public want and need more accountability from corporate CEOs, not less. It is reprehensible that the SEC is attempting to crush shareholder oversight. A robust system of checks and balances between the owners of corporate wealth and companies’ management, should be required by the SEC. Shutting down the main conduit for providing shareholder input is a deplorable overstep. These new rules would make it harder for investors to raise emerging issues with managers, meaning that it would halt progress toward addressing critical issues impacting companies and our communities over the long term. Years before Boeing’s 737 MAX model aircraft killed hundreds of people, the company’s shareholders filed proposals asking for more transparency about the company’s lobbying, citing concerns about the company’s influence over regulators. Had the new rules been in place, those shareholders’ efforts to hold Boeing’s management accountable would have been stopped in their tracks. The SEC should be facilitating shareholder democracy, not undermining it. This new set of rules should not be advanced. Thank you for considering my comment. Sincerely, Charlotte Fremaux [redacted]