March 21, 2012
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court decided that publicly traded corporations can secretly spend investor’s money on political activity.
Given that such secret spending has the potential to undermine an already damaged political process in this country, the Securities and Exchange Commission has the responsibility to issue a rule requiring those corporations to disclose all of their political spending. The disclosure must be public and easily accessible to citizens.
While this will benefit shareholders - allowing them to understand the fiscal policies and spending decisions of the corporations they invest in, it is the public that absolutely must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Given that our political system is built around paying back major donors, voters need to know to whom the candidates are beholden. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Andrew Curtis
Jamaica Plain, MA