On Tax Day, giant budget banner reveals where tax dollars go

Young and old gathered outside the Bellingham Public Library on Tax Day, April 18, to reflect on priorities we hold as residents of this place, and whether the ways our tax dollars are spent align with the needs of our people and with our responsibilities to this land.

In the U.S. this year, we’re spending about $600 billion on the Pentagon, funding wars around the world that do more harm than good. And we know that the Pentagon is wasting much of that money -- in December, we learned that the Pentagon buried an internal report that showed $25 billion in waste per year over five years.  President Trump is asking for an additional $54 billion for the Pentagon annually. Congress will decide this spring whether to cut programs that actually keep our communities safe in order to pour more money into the Pentagon.

​The Tax Day rally was organized by Veterans for Peace Chapter 111 and the Whatcom Peace & Justice Center. The groups called on Congress to start to prioritize human needs over corporate greed by agreeing not to vote for increases to military spending this federal budget cycle.

Watch 2-minute video of Global Day of Action on Military Spending: