February 16, 2012
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to 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 a corporation spends on politics and which candidates they are promoting or attacking. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
The FDA requires food companies to print a list of ingredients on food packages. Since the Supreme Court has decided that every time I buy anything produced or sold by a corporation I am also making a contribution to whatever political cause its officers choice, I ought to have the right as a consumer to know what I am supporting. It is at least as important to me as the amount of sodium in my food.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Seymour Smidt
Emeritus Professor of Finance and Economics
Johnson Graduate School of Management
Cornell University
Formerly Associate Director, SEC Institutional Investor Study