February 11, 2012
Dear SEC Commissioners,
Please do not give in to industry pressures on Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act (the Cardin-Lugar Amendment) - and make sure that ALL companies are covered, every country and every project gets reported, and loopholes that would allow large sums of money to go unreported are closed.
My Comment:
I suppose that there are more than a few members of the fraternity of "Big Oil" who sleep with a copy of Atlas Shrugged under their pillows in the firm belief that they understand what Ayn Rand meant. Well, let me tell you, the way some of you practise capitalism, Ms Rand would roll over in her grave. Or, ok, if you wish to skip over any discussions of political philosophy and approach things with the perspective of a bean counter: Engage in shennanigans with dictatorships=citizens remain repressed and broke=citizens unable to purchase anything that requires oil, or the oil itself. Or, crudely, customers can't dig into their wallets or pocketbooks if their local Gestapo has them chained to a cell or has chopped off their hands.