November 11, 2014
Now why would the Securities and Exchange Commission drop the rule requiring publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending from the unified agenda? It makes no sense.
According to many people, and a recent Princeton study, democracy no longer exists in America because the wants of a few of our richest citizens consistently trump the wants and sometimes desperate needs of the majority. This means that YOU are directly responsible for the erosion of our democracy in helping hide political spending.
I have no idea if any of you care, or if you will even read this. It makes me feel hopeless and distraught over the course of this country. But I still feel that someone at the SEC might actually read this and feel a flicker of care for their fellow citizens and their country.
Please return the rule to the unified agenda and complete the rule.
After the Supreme Court’s appalling “Citizens United” ruling, followed by 2012’s tsunami of election spending, bringing corporate “dark money” into the light should be a high priority for an agency charged with looking out for the interests of investors like me.
Giving CEOs the green light to use our retirement savings and investments as a political war chest for partisan interests like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is exactly the wrong thing to do.
It would be absurd for a small business owner not to know if his or her company’s money is being spent to help elect politicians. The same holds true for shareholders. 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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Mara Schoner