April 2, 2014
SEC
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 investors' money 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. Also, any individual or partnership that owns or manages these corporations may give funding in their name when it is indeed the corporation's funds. That's why limiting the donations to political elections should not exceed the recent ruling of $123,000, which is still not in the public interest because it is too high as well! The rich people are creating an American Aristocracy where they are the ruling class.
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,
Linda Gaska