Archive for June 9th, 2011

June9

FEC chair Cynthia Bauerly talks transparency on campaign finance with Public Citizen

By: Dorry Samuels

FEC chair Cynthia Bauerly speaks to a packed house at Public Citizen

With a record amount of money being poured into our elections, the Federal Election Commission, the agency in charge of monitoring and enforcing campaign finance and other huge election issues, must work harder than ever.

Luckily, Cynthia Bauerly, the chair of the agency, was able to spare a bit of her Thursday and spoke to a packed audience at Public Citizen. She talked about the need to disclose on campaign contributions (something Public Citizen strongly supports), how voters and consumers can weigh in on election-related matters, and the deadlocked nature of the bipartisan agency.

Robert Weissman, Public Citizen’s president, was sure to probe Bauerly on the U.S. Supreme Court’s damaging decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited amount of money to influence elections. Bauerly said that she won’t discuss her personal views on the case while she holds her position, but that her role is not to advocate one way or another, but rather to abide by and enforce SCOTUS’ decision. Well, fine. Just know we’re coming back to ask you again after you leave the commission.

Similarly, Bauerly said that it is up to Congress to issue legislation on public financing and increased disclosure, as well as to decide the role of the Election Assistance Commission.

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Posted in: Campaign Finance, Congress1 comments

June9

Target CEO “embattled and annoyed” by critics

By: Rick Claypool

A protester carrying a sign that says "Corporate $$ [not equal sign] Free Speech"

Public Citizen online organizer Rick Claypool at the Target protest (via Eric Russell/USW)

 

Opponents of corporate money’s corrupting influence in politics made their presence known loud and clear during Target Corporation’s annual shareholder meeting yesterday in Pittsburgh.

More than 100 protesters bearing signs with messages such as “Hands Off our Elections,” “Corporations are not people,” and “No Mouth, No Soul, No $peech” rallied outside of the not-yet-opened Target store in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Several of the demonstrators – acting as proxies on behalf of Target shareholders – entered the shareholder meeting to interrogate CEO Gregg Steinhafel about the corporation’s expenditure of $150,000 to support an extreme right-wing candidate during the 2010 elections.

Questions about corporate money in politics in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission dominated the shareholder question and answer session.

Clearly, this was something CEO Steinhafel did not want to talk about. After several questions on different aspects of the corporate donation, he pleaded with the audience for somebody to ask a question about something else.

I then approached the microphone, explained my role at the shareholder meeting speaking as a proxy for the Sisters of Notre Dame, and asked yet another question – specifically, querying how the corporate spending is accounted for and pressing Steinhafel on the difference between Target’s lobbying money and its campaign expenditures, something the CEO had conflated in his explanations.

Several more questions followed about corporate money in politics followed. A fashion publication reported Steinhafel was “embattled and annoyed” by the question and answer session.

Disappointingly (but unsurprisingly), Target still refuses to cease or even commit to full disclosure of its political activities.

Nevertheless, the demonstration and shareholder question and answer session sent a strong message to corporations that they will be held accountable for meddling in the people’s elections.

Posted in: Uncategorized12 comments

June9

Swipe this!

By: Rachel Lewis

Swipe this! Yesterday, the Senate actually stood up for consumers. Public Citizen’s financial policy analyst / sometimes poetic, often *sarcastic, wordsmith Bartlett Naylor for once had good things to say!

His statement regarding this consumer victory:

“Public Citizen applauds the Senate for standing firm against bankers’ attempt to preserve their lucrative and unjustified debit card swipe fees, which have functioned as little more than a wealth transfer from the poor to the rich.

Four banks alone account for $8 billion of the $16 billion in annual swipe fee profits. That oligopoly shows the need for the cap authored by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and approved last year as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Will retailers pass on the savings, an average of 32 cents per transaction? Retail markets are competitive and transparent enough that American consumers ought to recoup the savings in reduced prices.

Will regulating swipe fees harm the small banks that should be the backbone of credit in America? Certainly not. Only banks with more than $10 billion in assets are subject to the cap.

If debit swipe fees are capped, the bankers argue, they’ll be forced to make up the difference by increasing other fees. But bank profits aren’t a universal constant. When banks are stopped from profiting unfairly and can’t make up the difference by providing more value to customers, then they should simply profit less.”

*Bartlett Naylor just informed me he prefers “sardonic” to “sarcastic.”  Duly noted Bart!

Posted in: Financial Reform0 comments

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