Citizens United and Corporate Governance

Professor J.W. Verret writes about the confluence of corporate governance and the recent SCOTUS decision in Citizens United, here, in connection with proposed federal legislation. An excerpt follows:

In short, this bill sought to hijack the securities laws to regulate campaign finance. Even worse, it sought to give Union and State Pension Funds a veto over corporate political spending. As such, my thesis today was simple: trying to achieve labor and campaign policy goals through the securities laws leaves ordinary investors, who hold shares through their 401(k)s, holding the tab for this politically motivated activity