February 1, 2013
Members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
Please--it's long past time to end secret political spending by corporations.
I am writing to tell you that I strongly support the SEC's issuing a rule in the very near future that would require publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their spending on political activities.
Both shareholders and the public deserve to know how much a given corporation spends on politics (directly and through intermediaries), and which candidates are being promoted or attacked.
It is essential to our democracy--nearly dead as it now is--that citizens know how corporations are working to influence the political process. While overturning the incomprehensible and indefensible Citizens United ruling would be my preference, your passing a rule to force disclosure by corporations is a fine first step.
Thank you for responding to calls for justice. Please pass this rule and help citizens fight back against corporate rule.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Nancy E Elgin