Protect Military Spending on Tax Day
by Bruce Gagnon
It is always good to take advantage of times when people's minds are focused
like a laser on something. One such date is April 15, tax day. What better
time than this to hand out leaflets describing how 50% of every federal tax
dollar goes to the military? As people drive up to the post office we have a
"captive" audience for our message.
Last year when several of us leafleted on tax day in Brunswick, I stood by
the drive-up mail box outside the post office, and as people put their tax
returns in the slot I'd ask, "Want to see where your tax dollars are going?"
Most took the leaflet but many said, "Not really," as they grabbed it and
drove off. Truth is most people don't want to be confronted with the reality
of the Pentagon's bloated budget because they don't want to have to deal
with it.
The War Resisters League puts out a good pie chart leaflet that I always
use. Their web site is http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm
Another excellent resource about the budget, and what the impact of
military spending is on Maine is www.nationalpriorities.org/issues/states/me.html
We hope you will help us expand the public's understanding about how the
military economy is hurting Maine. Please join us on tax day by leafleting
at your local post office. FMI: 772-0680.
Bruce Gagnon heads the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in
Space.
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Talk Index, Spring 2005