by Seacoast Peace Response
Seacost Peace Response conducted a War Tax Education Penny Poll in Market Square on April 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The action was aimed at calling attention to the cost of the militarized federal budget, and it also showed how tax dollars are being spent.
Obama’s 2013 discretionary budget proposes that 57 percent of tax dollars to be spent on defense. Only 5 percent is proposed for health and 6 percent for education. Seacoast Peace Response and N.H. Peace Action are participating in “Move the Money,” a national campaign to reduce military spending by at least 25 percent and to move the money into local programs to meet human needs. The Pentagon itself has proposed cuts greater than 25 percent. If the U.S. military budget were cut by 80 percent it would still be the largest military budget in the world. Currently, the U.S. spends more money on its military than all the countries on the planet combined, according to a press release issued by Seacoast Peace Response.
The Penny Poll is a large display board with options for people to place pennies, provided by the group, in the categories they think the tax money should be spent in. Some spending options include: veterans benefits, environmental protection, housing, and health care. In last year’s Penny Poll, health care received the most votes with environmental protection coming close behind.
See media report : Penny Poll in Market Square on Monday.