February 27, 2012
I do not object to corporations undertaking or funding political speech. It is no more immoral than any other group of citizens seeking to do so. The First Amendment says that citizens (including stakeholders in corporations) have the right to assemble and right to speak. If the corporate entity is the most efficient way to speak, then it should be used as such.
Sometimes the political speech is made on behalf of the losing side, and sometimes the speech creates enemies. That creates risk. As a stockholder, I would like to be able to judge that risk.
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 potential shareholders 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.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Glenn Like