Activists gathered at the Eugene downtown post offices on Tax Day, April 15th, to challenge militarism and to call for the re-ordering of federal spending from supporting war to meeting human and environmental needs.
People were provided the opportunity to voice how they would spend their tax dollars when they took part in the “Penny Poll.” Participants were handed 10 pennies, which they deposited in jars representing a 5-category breakdown of the federal budget. The categories and how people voted are as follows:
- Human Resources 54%
- Physical resources 24%
- General government 12%
- Paying Down the Debt 7%
- Military 3%
“The results are similar to past years. If Eugene residents ran the Federal Government things would be significantly different — their tax dollars would be funding social and environmental programs and not endless war,” said event organizer Michael Carrigan of CALC.
War tax resisters, who object to over half of their federal taxes going to the military, redirected their “war” taxes to local organizations, including Sponsors, Shelter Care, and Occupy Medical as well as other organizations, who were on hand to receive their donations.
Peace activists were joined by activists from Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network-Jobs with Justice who spoke out for postal workers and keeping the Gateway mail processing center open. Michael Carrigan of CALC spoke in support of postal workers and not war at their rally April 13.
See photos here.