April 28, 2012
Dear members of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
I believe it has become necessary for the SEC to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
In the last 6 years, and particularly since the recent Supreme Court decision regarding corporations, there is an overwhelming desire on the part of shareholders for this transparency. In a perfect world, corporations would respond to the demands of their shareholders, without being forced to do so, simply because that is the appropriate action to take. And yet, by and large, traded companies which have addressed this issue at all have actively chosen NOT to disclose. Since they have resisted voluntarily taking appropriate action, it now becomes, in my opinion, the job of the SEC to require it.
Shareholders, both current and potential (the public), need to 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.
Sincerely,
Linda S Finger