Subject: File No. 4-637
From: Richard Owens

March 28, 2014

SEC

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 investors' money 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.

There are so many areas in which the average American is at a disadvantage in simply trying to be a good citizen and participate in the political process.  This would appear to be one of the most easily corrected.  If a shareholder is truly an owner of a business, it seems basic that the shareholder is entitled to know how the managers are spending the business funds and must know this in order to support or oppose the management team.  As an analogy, a consumer is entitled to know what ingredients are placed in the food offered for sale for consumption.

Thank you for considering my comment.

Sincerely,

Richard Owens