November 7, 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.
While I totally disagree with the basis for the Supreme Court's decision -- corporations are CLEARLY and OBVIOUSLY not people -- the least that can be done until this wrong-headed decision can be reversed is to make sure that corporate contributions to political candidates, campaigns and parties are publicly disclosed at the time they are made.
Secrecy of corporate political spending is the absolute enemy of democracy.
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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sincerely,
William Schoene