May 6, 2012
Dear Securities and Exchange Commission,
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 a corporation spends on politics and which candidates they are promoting or attacking. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
The Federal Elections Commission is deadlocked on the issue of such disclosures and looks like it will continue to be. The disclosures are much needed because of their implications for the future of our nation. The current situation presents a great danger of America becoming an oligarchy of very wealthy people, in the fairly near future.
An oligarchy of wealthy people will not even be good for wealthy people. Poor people, deprived of real political power, are likely to degenerate into dangerous mobs or murderous armed rebel groups. For examples, look to 20th Century South American history.
If shareholders are told of their corporation's political spending they will be able to put some kind of break on what will otherwise amount to corporations' freely "buying the America they like".
Sincerely,
Leonard Martin