How Would You Spend Your Own Tax Dollars?

Friday the 13th – A Report From the Streets

Dear Sisters & Brothers In Peace,

What an afternoon it was! The skies cleared, the humidity evaporated and our wonderful new gizmo was a roaring success.

Maybe it was Sister Jennie’s clarion call or Ms. Eva-Lee’s hat that got ’em to the table, but whatever the lure — folks lined up to get their twenty pennies and allocate them into the appropriate tubes.

Once participants made their choices for spending tax revenues, we offered them literature (Note to War Resister’s League: Many Thanks!) that shows how Washington actually spends our tax dollars.  And the almost universal reaction?  Shock and outrage.

Now we aren’t about to make any sweeping, Fox-like generalizations about this afternoon’s endeavor. We will take ourselves, our apparatus and our stash of pennies to many different locations in the next weeks to take the ‘tax temperature’ of a wide cross-section of the citizenry.  But just for the record, this is the data we collected today: jobs, education and housing are the top priorities.  As for the military?  Not so much.

Tabulating the results over a quick lunch, we all agreed was perhaps the best aspect of today’s action was the thoughtful and smart conversation it provoked – and we want more!  So keep a sharp eye out for a colorful table with a crazy contraption and a bunch of old ladies offering baggies full of pennies.  And you can be sure that every time we set up shop, we’ll be reporting back to you with all with our findings.  And if you’re interested in having us come to your neighborhood, give us a blast at  grannypeace@gmail.com.

– Fran Sears
Photos: Eva-Lee Baird
for The Granny Peace Brigade