January 19, 2012
We are much more than deeply fearful about the influence of corporate money on our electoral process.
Because of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, publicly traded corporations can spend investor's money on political activity in secret without their input. This is terribly wrong.
Thus, we implore the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
Even better would be a requirement that the investors be polled before dollars are released for political purposes.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics and which candidates or issues are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC's web site.
Thank you for considering our pleas.
Joan and Wallace MacDonald
Mountain View, CA