February 9, 2012
Securities and Exchange Comm.
Dear Securities and Exchange Comm.,
I invest in a socially responsible mutual fund. The fund manager can examine each company's labor practices, environmental record, campaign donations and lobbying expenses. I also want the manager to be able to examine donations to Super PACs.
As a consumer, I want to know which companies are promoting various issues, so I can decide which company merits my purchases.
Markets don't function well without transparency. Neither does democracy; all but one of the Supreme Court justices supported disclosure in their Citizens United ruling.
I urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics, and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
Sincerely,
Scott Weikart