November 6, 2013
SEC Comment file 4-637
Dear Comment file 4-637,
I am deeply concerned about the influence of corporate money on our electoral process.
In particular, I am appalled that, because of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, publicly traded corporations can spend investor's money on political activity in secret.
I am writing to 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.
Big Money + Slush Fund Politics = corruption. It's getting very Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire out there, this open purchasing of legislation and politicians, who are, in the end, supposed to be representing their constituents, not corporate donors--whoever has the deepest pockets.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
Juliet Waldron