May 17, 2015
The SEC needs to enforce the law. Do your job. You need to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending. I am a shareholder in multiple publicly traded corporations and I am incensed that I don't know which corporations are spending money in politics and in what ways.
I am also a citizen who cherishes voting. How can I be an equal part to our democratic process when my voice is lost in the barrage of well-funded campaigns that counter it? I can make comments, but my time is limited and my money is limited. Why should someone with deep pockets have a voice that counts more? I don't mind it that corporations and wealthy individuals can take over the airwaves with their advertisements about many issues. But I am incensed that they can alter the political process through massive political contributions or through funding political advertising and we the people don't even get to know until way after the fact, if at all.
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.
Colleen Kirby
Arlington, MA