Subject: File No. 4-637
From: Douglas Clapp

February 1, 2013

Dear Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:

It's long past time to end secret political spending by corporations.
 
So I strongly support the SEC issuing a rule in the near future that would require publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their spending on political activities.

Both shareholders and the public deserve to know how much a given corporation spends on politics (directly and through intermediaries), and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Political spending is not related to a corporation's core business, is usually done without the company's stockholders' knowledge or approval, and - as an unnecessary non-operating cost - frequently reduces shareholders' potential return on their investment. Such expenditures should therefore be a matter of public record, so investors and consumers can choose to buy or sell their shares (or the company's products) based on full knowledge of the corporation's political engagements.   

Thank you for considering my comment.

 

Sincerely,

Douglas Clapp