• Slash the military budget*
•  End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Close foreign bases & bring troops home
• Dismantle nuclear weapons & related systems
• Adopt a foreign policy based on multilateral negotiation and not military might

By taking the last step, the U.S. can stop wasting billions of dollars on weapons—from small arms to battleships and “star wars” systems—that benefit military contractors while politicians one-up each other about patriotism. The bloated Pentagon budget is rife with waste. It is past time to put that budget on the chopping block and rethink national security from a human perspective.

*Rep. Barney Frank (MA) calls for 25% cut, votersforpeace.us; Institute for Policy Study “Unified Security Budget,” ips-dc.org/reports/#676; Beyond War A New Economy is Possible campaign, unitedforpeace.org.

“Big government, big bureaucracy, big politician package”

That’s what Newt Gingerich said about the economic stimulus package. The intent of these bars is not to lobby for that bill but to make a comparison to the really big government spending at the Pentagon that goes unquestioned.

1 not including Iraq/Afghan. costs; see “America's Defense Meltdown,” cdi.org
2 over 2 to 3 years, 74% to be spent by Sept. 2010
3 including DoD, DoE nuclear weapons, 30% Homeland Security retirement, military activities of other agencies ( WRL analysis)
4 roads, water systems, bridges, dams, mass transit, schools, etc. (American Society of Civil Engineers, asce.org)
5 transactions without documentation, reported by Defense Sec. Rumsfeld, 9/10/01. "With good financial oversight we could find $48 billion in loose change in that building, without having to hit the taxpayers." (Retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan comment to CBS)

“A nation that continues year after year
to spend more money on military defense than on
programs of social uplift is approaching
spiritual death.”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Leaflet with this flyer now; on Tax Day, April 15; and throughout the year before a new budget is passed in October.
• Write elected officials and local newspapers. Send them copies of this flyer. Demand that the Pentagon budget be cut, unitedforpeace.org. Join the campaign to stop war profiteers: bitethebullet.us.
• Protest with your money! Sign up at wartaxboycott.org. Refuse to pay all or part of your federal income tax. Whatever you choose to refuse—$1, $10, or a percentage—send a letter to elected officials and tell them why. Though illegal, thousands of people openly participate in this form of protest. You can take control of your paycheck and avoid contributing to the military. Contact us for information or referral to a counselor near you. Contribute resisted tax money to organizations that support the common good.
• For more about refusing to pay for war, contact the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, PO Box 150553, Brooklyn, NY 11215, (800) 269-7464; nwtrcc.org • Support the Peace Tax Fund bill to allow 100% of your taxes to fund nonmilitary programs: (888) 732-2382; peacetaxfund.org.
• Support military personnel who refuse to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information see ivaw.org or girights.org. Call the GI Rights Hotline if you are in the military and need help: (877) 447-4487.

MORE RESOURCES ON WAR TAX RESISTANCE

War Tax Resistance: A Guide to Withholding Your Support from the Military, a 144-page handbook with history, methods and resources. $15 plus $4.95 priority mail. Order online.

National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee