USA Today/Opinion – Shareholders should know about political donations – As the 2012 election season heats up, campaigns have been soliciting donations to fuel what many expect to be the most expensive election cycle in U.S. history. Unbridled by the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, which prohibited restrictions on corporate political contributions and gave rise to a new form of political committees known as Super PACs, corporations have doled out millions of dollars targeted at electing or defeating federal candidates…With many annual shareholder meetings taking place this month, investors are finally asking questions about contributions. Nearly one-third of shareholder resolutions in 2012 will ask companies for more disclosure about their campaign spending and lobbying. READ MORE
Washington Post/Opinion – Super PACs can be thwarted – Here is the only good news about the super PACs flooding the 2012 presidential race with negative ads funded by huge contributions from the super rich: These vehicles for corruption can be eliminated. Congress can pass legislation to end these candidate-specific super PACs that is well within the bounds of Citizens United. READ MORE
Rasmussen Reports – Americans are more skeptical than ever about fairness of tax system – Americans remain unhappy with the tax system in this country and believe more strongly than ever that others do not pay their fair share. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% of American Adults think the United States has the best tax system in the world. Sixty-one percent (61%) disagree, and another 27% are not sure. READ MORE
Huffington Post – Karl Rove’s NAACP analogy runs afoul of law, history – What do modern-day billionaires attempting to secretly buy federal elections have in common with blacks in the 1950s who needed to keep membership in civil rights groups private or risk getting firebombed? The obvious answer is not much at all. But to hear Karl Rove and some other Republicans talk, the two groups share a legitimate fear of intimidation -- and deserve the same legal protection. READ MORE
CNBC - Obama to sign congressional insider trading ban - President Barack Obama is ready to sign legislation prohibiting members of Congress, the president and thousands of other federal workers from engaging in insider trading...While the bill Obama is signing into law Wednesday allows the public see more of government officials' financial dealings, lawmakers abandoned an earlier proposal to require public reports from people who gather information from Congress — and sell it, mainly to investors. READ MORE