[[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Dear John,
Each year at tax time, the National Priorities Project produces a tax receipt [[link removed]] that shows where your federal income taxes went.
This year, our receipt shows that the average taxpayer contributed $5,109 to militarism and its support systems [[link removed]] , including weapons and war, deportations and detentions, mass incarceration and veterans’ programs.
That includes support for those who profit from war. The average taxpayer gave:
*
$1,748
toward
Pentagon
contractors.
That’s
more
than
the
average
monthly
rent
in
the
U.S.
($1,372).
[[link removed].]
*
$249
for
contracts
for
Lockheed
Martin,
the
largest
Pentagon
contractor.
That’s
more
than
a
week’s
food
expenses
for
the
average
American
household
($195).
[[link removed]]
*
$87
for
the
Pentagon’s
contracts
with
Boeing
,
the
company
responsible
for
numerous
safety
failures
on
its
commercial
flights
[[link removed]]
.
That’s
about
equivalent
to
filling
your
car’s
gas
tank
twice.
[[link removed]]
By contrast, investments that keep us safe and strengthen our families and communities are getting short shrift. The average taxpayer paid just:
*
$346
for
K-12
education.
As
aid
to
help
kids
regain
academic
ground
lost
during
the
pandemic
expires,
many
school
districts
are
now
facing
budget
cuts.
[[link removed]]
*
$110
for
the
Child
Tax
Credit,
that
supports
families
with
children.
The
recent
expansion
of
this
credit
during
the
pandemic
helped
cut
child
poverty
nearly
in
half
[[link removed]]
,
but
Congress
let
the
expansion
expire.
[[link removed]]
*
$10.84
for
energy
efficiency
and
renewable
energy
programs
to
combat
climate
change,
the
defining
threat
of
our
time.
This just doesn’t make any sense.
We need a budget that invests in the things we want more of (education, health care, clean energy) and less in things we need less of (war, deportations, and mass incarceration). We’ll only get there if we push back on the politics that favor corporate profits over public welfare.
In solidarity,
Lindsay, Alliyah and Kufre
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National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
[link removed] [[link removed]]
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