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From
Tanya Wallace, WAND National Field Director
In
a democracy, we all pitch in to pay for services that we believe the government
should provide. Sure, it's no fun to have to pay taxes; but it's the price
of maintaining a healthy, prosperous, secure community for all of us.
That's
the idea, anyway. Sadly, the reality is somewhat different. And it's not
a pretty picture. When you take a good look at what happens to our federal
tax dollars, they're going places few people really like. Missile defense.
New nuclear weapons. Weapons intended to fight the Soviet Union (remember
them?).
So
this April, we encourage you to have some fun, and take some action, and
shake up the federal budget pie a bit. Here are a few ideas. Let us know
what you've got planned!
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Download
a nice version of the pie chart: In
color | In
black and white
(These are PDF files.) Copy and distribute all you like!
Thanks! |
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At
the Post Office on Tax Day:
Conduct a penny poll
Set
up a table outside the PO, and have people vote for how they'd spend
their tax dollars. As the pennies accumulate, everyone can see where
the most pennies go.
Odds
are good it won't match the pie chart above! Have the pie on hand
to show folks the reality.
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- Set
up several clear glasses (or tubes or jars); label them with
categories of government spending (see above): e.g., education, environment,
healthcare, housing, and the military; make sure to have a separate
one for the Iraq war. (If the container is narrow, the pennies will
pile up more clearly.)
- Give
each person who would like to participate 10 pennies (or 100,
if you're feeling strong and flush), and invite them to distribute them
in the containers according to the way they would like to see
their tax dollars spent.
- The
American Pie action guide illustrates in detail how their
tax dollars actually get spent. Have some on hand, if possible.
- Publicize
the results in a press release or letter to the editor of your
local paper.
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Use
a real pie to show the actual allocation
Have
some pie on hand! (Pizza pie or dessert pie, whichever you prefer.)
Add
a little theatre by having a someone who "represents"
excessive military spending "eating" most of the pie --
while others (education, health, housing etc…) watch, and
get only tiny slices. |
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Mail
your taxes directly to weapon systems
Make
a fake mailbox, with a sign that says "Bypass the
middleman! Send your taxes directly to the weapon systems that profit
from war." |
You can indicate on the envelope which weapon system you like best:
- The F-22
fighter aircraft program, $2,800,000,000.
- The F-35
Joint Strike fighter aircraft program, $3,300,000,000.
- The C-130J
aircraft program, $1,600,000,000.
- The V-22
Osprey aircraft program, $2,100,000,000.
- The Virginia
class submarine program, $2,300,000,000.
- The next
generation destroyer (DD(X)) program, $3,400,000,000.
- The Ballistic
Missile Defense program, $8,300,000,000.
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Host
a Tax Day Karaoke (or Singalong) Party
You
know you want to. When your guests can stop singing for a moment,
have them take a look at the pie chart, and invite them to visit
the WAND web site and take action. |
If you don't
have the set up for true karaoke (but who doesn't?), you can simply host
an old fashioned singalong. It's cathartic, really it is.
Songs
to feature
• The Tax Man, by The Beatles
• Taxes Are Best When You Pay Nothing At All, by Stephen Stubbs
• Sales Tax, by the Mississippi Sheiks
• It's My Money, by The Right Brothers
• Revolution, by The Beatles
• 20th Century Man, by The Kinks
• My City Was Gone, by The Pretenders
• Let’s Impeach the President, by Neil Young
• Sweet Neo Con, by Rolling Stones
• Don’t put taxes on the Women, by Going Home
• Don’t Pay taxes, by Charlie King & Karen Brandow
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Thanks,
kids!
Hand
out tax forms for everyone's grandchild, indicating in big colored
numerals the estimated payment due as result of the deficit. |
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