July 25, 2013
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 – and to do so this year.
“Dark money” groups that accept contributions from corporations, but are not required to publicly identify their corporate donors, spent millions of dollars during the 2012 elections. It is a scandal that money from publicly traded corporations – which belongs to investors – can be secretly spent to distort our democracy.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission created the loophole that enables this secret spending, but the SEC has the authority to close it.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much corporations spend on politics and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
No petition will stop you from selling out to the corporations. Anybody with a brain already knows you have been neutered to the point of total irrelevance. It would be better if you didn't exist at all...then they would not be able to pretend you are there to make sure they play straight. What a laugh that is.
Just signing out of principle although I know it is a waste of everybody's time. One day the people will stand up and demand justice...pay the heavy price that will go with it and then maybe just maybe we will make some changes. Until then know that there are many of us who know just exactly how useless you really are.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Dan Harris
Carrboro, NC