July 28, 2012
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Preamble of the United States Constitution does not begin, "We the Corporations of the United States of America . . ." President Lincoln did not describe the United States Government as government "Of the Corporations, By the Corporations, For the Corporations." Yet corporations control vast amounts of wealth, and frequently use that wealth in ways that are contrary to the Public Interest, and to the desires of many of their shareholders.
As a shareholder in a number of corporations, I consistently vote for shareholder proposals to limit or prohibit use of corporate funds for political purposes. But I am merely one shareholder among tens of thousands, with merely a small, odd-lot position.
I strongly support the petition of Bebchuk, Black, Coffee, Cox, Gilson, Gordon, Hansmann, Jackson, Langevoort, and Sale, although at the same time, I believe that a disclosure requirement does not go far enough. It is, however, a very important step in the right direction.
--
James H. H. Lampert
Fountain Valley, CA 92708