September 18, 2014
As both a stockholder and a citizen, I am outraged that the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped from its unified agenda the rule requiring publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending. Please, please return this rule to your agenda and complete it in 2014!
Even the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling assumed that campaign spending by corporations would be transparent, not hidden from the public and investors alike. How can it possibly benefit me to have my retirement savings and investments used for partisan political purposes that may run exactly counter to my interests, and not even be informed when this happens?
If I were a small business owner, of course I would know if my company's money was being spent to support or oppose a given candidate. The same principle should apply to stockholders. The amount a corporation is spending on politics, and which candidates are being supported or attacked, should be promptly disclosed on the SEC's website.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Sherry Reames