Tax Day Cometh -- from the AFSC Providence Office

Tax Day is coming – and with it the annual opportunity to stand outside your local Post Office with information about how our taxes are spent. Though the general public seems to be in deep denial, the US still occupies Iraq, is increasing the occupation of Afghanistan and regularly carrying out attacks in Pakistan. While the violence is down in Iraq, we will probably reach the 5000 US soldier death this summer, and hundreds of Iraqis are still dying. While it is good to have an end date in sight, it is a good thing to continue to call for that being the absolute minimum – sooner would be better. In other words, war still is costing us a huge amount of money, a huge toll in lives lost, and soldiers are returning home to inadequate care. We can do better.    Secretary of Defense Gates is aware at how much money is being spent and has put out a budget that calls for cutting out-dated weapons systems. But already the defense industry is pushing back and howling about the jobs that will be lost. That is true, but there is good news. A recent study by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that for every $1 Billion of investment, some industries produce more jobs than others – and the military comes out on the bottom (could be due to the 300% cost overruns of their projects). You get 8,555 jobs from the military, 10,779 jobs created from $1B in tax rebates, 17,687 jobs when it is invested in education, 12,883 jobs if it is invested in health care, 12,804 jobs in construction and 19,795 jobs if $1B is invested in mass transit. And some of those are jobs that people doing military construction could shift to.    With the economy suffering and unemployment rising, now is the time to think about how we invest our federal money. Do we keep the military industrial complex happy because that is what we know – or do we cut old system and try some new things? We can indeed to better – but Congress has to hear from YOU and our neighbors.    That is where you come in. Visit www. http://www.afsc.org/sene/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/77773 for information on how to set up an event at your Post Office. Tax Day is an incredible opportunity to talk to people about our national priorities. At the website you will find a variety of flyers. Take the ones that strike you as most effective, grab a friend, take a stack of 3X5 cards for postcards that people can use for notes to their Congressman, and stand in front of the Post Office for an hour or two or ten. There will be events in Providence (at the main PO on Corliss St), East Providence, Barrington and Bristol. IF you plan an event – please let us know so we can post it. Watch the website – more documents will be added in the coming days. And have some fun. 

In Peace Martha Martha Yager AFSC-SENE

MYager@afsc.org 33 Chestnut St. Providence RI 02903 401-521-3584 Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. Rabindranath Tagore