Chairman Christopher Cox
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549-1090
September 25, 2007
Chairman Christopher Cox
I believe that one of the duties of the SEC is to protect the integrity of the market. Therefore, I am writing to request that you protect the right of investors to file shareholder resolutions and urge you to take no action on the proposed initiatives that would curtail or eliminate this essential right.
No one needs a reminder that the market is full of unorthodox and unscrupulous practitioners. Shareholders have always been at the mercy of greed and corruption. I do not believe that Enron is an anomoly. Individuals such as myself see shareholder resolutions as an invaluable tool for investors who want to make their voices heard with regard to the direction of their companies.
Shareholder resolutions have helped to promote transparency and improve corporate governance and performance. They have called attention to critical issues, including global warming, nuclear power, sweatshops, executive compensation, natural resource extraction, and other major societal and environmental problems that, when not addressed, often end up costing shareholders and their companies as a result of lawsuits, damaged reputations, consumer boycotts, public protests, and low staff morale.
The many corporate scandals of recent years highlight how important it is to have more, not less, corporate transparency and accountability. Shareholder resolutions have proven effective in holding companies accountable to their owners. I ask that the commission safeguard, not undermine, their use.
If only the fox is allowed to guard the henhouse, there will be no chickens left to guard. Individual investors did not fail Enron, the corporate office and board of directors caused this debacle. Hence if corporations did not have shareholders with leverage, all corporations could go by the way of Enron. There would be no need for the SEC if all corporations were able to self-destruct through their own pursuit of greed.
Thank you for your attention to my comments.
Sincerely,
Maria Crandall