February 2, 2013
Dear Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
It's long past time to end secret political spending by corporations.
BECAUSE CORPORATIONS RECEIVE SUBSIDIES (WELFARE), PAID WITH MONEY RECEIVED FROM INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS, SUCH AS MYSELF, THE CORPORATIONS SHOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW THE SAME RULES AS APPLIED TO THOSE WHO RECEIVE FOOD STAMPS OR HOUSING ASSISTANCE! THOSE CITZENS WHO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE MUST! ACCOUNT FOR EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR THEY SPEND EACH YEAR FOR EVERY LITTLE THING, AND IF THEY DO NOT---THEY ARE DENIED THE FOOD STAMPS OR THE HOUSING ASSISTANCE THEY ARE SEEKING. THIS SAME DISCLOSURE SHOULD APPLY TO CORPORATIONS AS WELL---EVEN MORESO--AS IT IS THE CORPORATION THAT USES HIGHLY COMPENSATED ACCOUNTANTS TO ASSURE THAT AS MANY DOLLARS AS POSSIBLE ARE NOT RECORDED, OR TAXABLE! SOMEHOW THIS RULE OF DISCLOSURE SEEMS UPSIDE DOWN! SUPPOSEDLY WE ARE NOT A PLUTOCRACY--YET!
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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
Patricia Edgerton