April 17, 2012
Corporate money is playing havoc with fair elections. Our electoral process is being derailed by the Citizens United decision.
George Washington used his wealth to win votes to the Virginia House of Burgesses and it worked. The Burgessess noticed and immediately voted to make gifts, bribes, and enticements unlawful. Mega millions of dollars available to corporations are manipulating the media and paying or enticing people, strapped by the Too Big to Fail strategy that struck America down.
A fair and honest electoral process is the only way to uphold democracy. You the SEC are the ones to uphold these laws and intentions. People need to know where the corporate money goes. Keep transparency.
I 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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Anahata Pomeroy
Ojai, CA