The Power of the Purse is Not Just for Congress

The United States Government is pouring $2 billion a week into the war in Iraq. It is in the process of sending more troops and requesting still more funding. Increasingly, the public is fed up, angry, bewildered, and discouraged. More people are turning up for rallies, vigils and marches. The “Iraq Body Count” – the sea of flags that is traveling from one university to another brings tears to our eyes.

A number of years ago, Father Daniel Berringan wrote a short statement that comes as a deep challenge to the nonviolent peace movement. In it he points out that we yearn for peace, but we are unwilling to make any significant sacrifices to obtain it. The United States public takes for granted that, for a war effort, families will be torn apart, young men and women’s careers and education disrupted, and young soldiers will die. But we in the peace movement want to set our own schedules, fit our peace activities safely into the rest of our lives.

As the horrors of this war and the disastrous policies of this administration reach deeper into our hearts, more and more people have been calling on congress to exercise its constitutional powers of oversight. Many have been calling on Congress to exercise its power of the purse to stop the bull-headed direction this administration is taking our nation and the world. Some in Congress seem to have the courage and willingness to make the sacrifice – to risk their security and careers to take a stand. Others seem to be waiting for a politically more convenient time.

For some of us in the peace movement, it is not only Congress who holds the power of the purse. We believe it is each individual’s right to say, “Not in my name, and not with my money!” Some of us are willing to sacrifice security and comfort by refusing to pay for the war through our federal income tax. We are war tax resisters and here are some of our stories.

Carol has been a war tax resister since the invasion of Iraq. She does not consider herself a pacifist, but believes this war is illegal and a violation of international law. In an attempt to reduce the amount of taxes owed, Carol has been giving away one third of her income to charities -- putting her money toward services where Federal and State budgets have been cut. The first time the IRS came after her with threatening letters she got frightened and sent the money. The following year she forced the IRS to garnish her wages. After the 2006 elections, Carol paid her 2005 taxes as an act of faith that the new Congress would fulfill its Constitutional responsibility of oversight.

Ben and Janine, the young parents of an infant boy, have been war tax resisters since returning from Colombia, South America, in 2003, where they witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of US military intervention. As conscientious objectors to war raised in the historically pacifist Mennonite tradition, they are practitioners of nonviolence and oppose all military spending. They would gladly pay taxes if their money supported only peaceful endeavors such as education, health care, and social services. Instead of paying for war, they attempt to reduce or eliminate the amount of taxes they owe by living close to the poverty line. In the years they do owe taxes, they withhold the funds and donate them to organizations that they believe give life rather than take it, including the local school district and international aid organizations. Last December, they received a notice from the IRS informing them that they would be levied. As of this writing, however, they are still waiting for the IRS to act.

Back in the late 1070s, Peg learned about the War Tax Resistance Movement, and since 1980 she has refused to pay all or part of her Federal income taxes, as well as the telephone Federal Excise tax. Over the past 27 years, she has paid the taxes once, had her salary garnished, bonds and bank accounts levied, and currently her Social Security checks are being levied. She has place the “refused” tax money into escrow accounts where the interest can be used for peace-building purposes, or has redirected her tax dollars to causes she believes in. She will not voluntarily pay her taxes to a government with policies that lead to war, fear and corporate greed.

These stories are a sample of what some people have chosen to do to help stop this war. Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig said during the Vietnam War, “Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” Having our tax dollars used in this war is a level of complicity we simply cannot accept.

(this post was written by members of the Taxes for Peace, Not War Group in Eugene, Or., in which this blogger is a member)

Money Talks

We used to live in a Democratic society supported by a Capitalist economy. People knew that one system protected our rights and created our quality of life, and the other protected our wealth and created our standard of living. People used to know the difference and understood that each filled a different need in our culture. Now we live in a Capitalist society where Democracy is tolerated as long as it doesn't interfere with each citizen's right to become a millionaire, either by working up the corporate ladder, trading and investing, or winning the lottery. In such a society where standard of living trumps quality of life, money has become the foundation of every decision we make, it is the touchstone by which we measure our progress, it is the currency we use to express our beliefs.

Since the war began in Iraq, I have withheld my federal income tax as a protest against an illegal and immoral war. It was not good enough for me to say, "Not in my name," without also saying, "Not with my money." In this new society, money is more than just free speech, it is how we vote and I could no more have voluntarily helped pay for this war than I could have voted for George Bush in the last election. In each of the past three years I have given away approximately 30 percent of my gross income (which is not very large to begin with) to organizations that work to assist struggling families, send protective gear to military personel, and support our injured troops when they come home. Even though the IRS eventually catches up with me, I have felt as if I have been consistent in my cause and speaking in the language of our time -- money.

When I first noticed the shift in our societal structure back in the Reagan 1980s, I became disillusioned, frustrated with the change, fighting desperately to change it back, to save our Democracy. Now I see that money has become my vote and I can vote every day. I practice Democracy every time I choose to buy something -- or not buy something. I cast a vote for my beliefs by choosing where I shop and how my money is used. Every day, I am a vocal, voting, active citizen of this great nation just by being deliberate about where my money goes. There is such power in this, if we will only take it.

As the holidays draw near, it might be time to ask just what message you want to send with the money you spend. Every day is election day. How will you vote?