<div>Perhaps everyone IS TALKING about the same thing:</div> <div> </div> <div>First the URL: <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><A href="http://www.counterpunch.org/hossein04162007.html" target=_blank>http://www.counterp<WBR>unch.org/<WBR>hossein04162007.<WBR>html</A></SPAN></div> <div><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"></SPAN> </div> <div><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: blue; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"></SPAN> </div> <div>Then the article ========================================></div> <div><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The Pentagon budget for the current fiscal year (2007) is about $456 billion. President Bush's proposed increase of 10% for next year will raise this figure to over half a trillion dollars, that is, $501.6 billion for fiscal year 2008. A proposed supplemental appropriation to pay for the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq "brings proposed military spending for FY 2008 to $647.2 billion, the highest level of military spending since the end of World War II-higher than Vietnam, higher than Korea, higher than the peak of the Reagan buildup."[1]<BR><BR><I><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Using official budget figures, William D. Hartung, Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute in New York, provides a number of helpful comparisons:</SPAN></I></SPAN></FONT></div> <div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Proposed U.S. military spending for FY 2008 is larger than military spending by all of the other nations in the world combined.</SPAN></FONT></I></div> <div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">At $141.7 billion, this year's proposed spending on the Iraq war is larger than the military budgets of China and Russia combined. Total U.S. military
spending for FY2008 is roughly ten times the military budget of the second largest military spending country in the world, China.</SPAN></FONT></I></div> <div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Proposed U.S. military spending is larger than the combined gross domestic products (GDP) of all 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.</SPAN></FONT></I></div> <div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The FY 2008 military budget proposal is more than 30 times higher than all spending on State Department operations and non-military foreign aid combined.</SPAN></FONT></I></div> <div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The FY 2008 military budget is over 120 times higher than the roughly $5 billion per year the U.S. government spends on combating global warming.</SPAN></FONT></I></div>
<div><I><FONT face=Verdana size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">The FY 2008 military spending represents 58 cents out of every dollar spent by the U.S. government on discretionary programs: education, health, housing assistance, international affairs, natural resources and environment, justice, veterans' benefits, science and space, transportation, training/employment and social services, economic development, and several more items.[2</SPAN></FONT></I></div> <div class=MsoNormal><BR><BR>========================================<BR>I have to respectfully disagree with your claim that the<BR>budgetary issue is a selfish one. I've been so swamped lately<BR>that I completely forgot, but my intention for months had<BR>been to produce the linked essay as a leaflet for the tax-filing<BR>crowds at the post office.<BR><BR>It claims that the tax-budget pie we're all familiar with is wrong,<BR>and that actually 67% of every tax dollar goes
to the military.<BR>Military spending is conventionally under-reported because<BR>many military expenses such as veterans' care, service of military<BR>debt, and the Atomic Energy Commission are left out of the<BR>military budget. Also, trust-funded programs such as Social<BR>Security and Medicare are counted as government expenditures<BR>when they should be left out of the tax-funded pie.<BR><BR>http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/NEWS/506050332/1030/FEATURES15&template=printart<BR><BR>Let's all do all we can to derail the war machine that is blighting<BR>the planet, including educating the taxpayers about its true cost!<BR><BR>Brian<BR><BR><BR><BR>>From: "Curt Wechsler" <WECHSLERTOO@EARTHLINK.NET><BR>>Reply-To: wechslertoo@earthlink.net<BR>>To: "Michael Fischetti" <DRPESTO@HOTMAIL.COM>, sosfbay-discuss@cagreens.org<BR>>Subject: Re: [Sosfbay-discuss] Where Do Your Taxes Go<BR>>Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:02:59
-0700<BR>><BR>>OK, this is not going to make any fans, but...<BR>><BR>>with close to 800,000 civilian deaths in Iraq (more than estimated deaths<BR>>in Dafur), I think this approach is very selfish. War crimes should take<BR>>precedence to budgetary issues. There's a world out there folks.<BR>><BR>><BR>> > [Original Message]<BR>> > From: Michael Fischetti <DRPESTO@HOTMAIL.COM><BR>> > To: <SOSFBAY-DISCUSS@CAGREENS.ORG><BR>> > Date: 4/16/2007 5:17:18 PM<BR>> > Subject: [Sosfbay-discuss] Where Do Your Taxes Go<BR>> ><BR>> > mountain view voices for peace will be having it annual (ugh) tax day<BR>> > protest tuesday 4/17 at the post office in mountain view at hope and <BR>>dana<BR>> > street from 10 am - midnight --<BR>> ><BR>> > it is a great way to engage the citizenry - lots of handouts - everyone<BR>>is<BR>> > invited to show up a do a shift --- it has been fun and
educational and<BR>>we<BR>> > reach a lot of people - another way to be anti war<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> > mike f<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> > >*<BR>> > >Folks,<BR>> > ><BR>> > >This is FYI on the news release I've sent to three newspapers and four<BR>>TV<BR>> > >stations.<BR>> > ><BR>> > >Fred<BR>> > ><BR>> > >Here is a TAX DAY news tip to: KPIX-TV<BR>> > >.<BR>> > >From: Fred Duperrault, 650-691-1215 and fredd@freeshell.org of<BR>> > >Mountain View Voices for Peace (MVVP)<BR>> > ><BR>> > ><BR>> > >News Item: WHERE DO YOUR TAXES GO?<BR>> > ><BR>> > >On Tuesday, April 17, graphic examples of how your federal taxes are<BR>> > >spent will be displayed in front of the Mountain View U.S. Post Office<BR>> > >between 10:30 am and 6:00 pm. ( The Mountain View P.O. is located
on<BR>> > >the corner of Villa and Hope Streets, one block south of the CalTrain -<BR>> > >VTA transportation hub.)<BR>> > ><BR>> > >The "WHERE DO YOUR TAXES GO?" demonstration is an annual action of the<BR>> > >Mountain View Voices for Peace group (MVVP). Much information from the<BR>> > >National Priorities Project and other tax research entities is made<BR>> > >available to the P.O. patrons on Tax Day.<BR>> > ><BR>> > >One of the displays illustrates the shocking size of the five year cost<BR>> > >of the IRAQ WAR with a pile of PINTO BEANS one millionth the size of<BR>> > >$500 billion, the cost of the war.<BR>> > ><BR>> > >Each visitors will receive a souvenir PINTO BEAN representing <BR>>$1,000,000.<BR>> > >A pile of 500,000 PINTO BEANS will help apprehend how much<BR>> > >$500,000,000,000 really is.<BR>> > ><BR>> >
>Contact person: Fred Duperrault, (650) 691-1215 or <BR>>fredd@freeshell.org<BR>> > >*<BR>> > ><BR></div><p>
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