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TechnoratiDon't Buy Bush's War
How much of your tax payment this year would you like to allocate for waterboarding in Iraq or an invasion of Iran? Around the world, people are puzzled as to why the U.S. public allows the Bush administration to wage illegal wars and usurp our power. Why do we tolerate it and continue to pay for it?
Over the past year, millions of U.S. citizens have voted, lobbied, marched, and taken direct action to end the war in Iraq. Courageous soldiers, such as members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, have taken the risk to speak out. Yet Congress continues to appropriate billions of dollars for the war.
How do we up the ante of resistance? It is time for taxpayers who oppose this war to join together in nonviolent civil disobedience and show Congress how to cut off the funds for this war and redirect resources to the pressing needs of people. Chris Hedges wrote in The Nation, "I will not pay my income tax if we go to war with Iran... I will go to court to challenge the legality of the war."
On this anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, a coalition of anti-war activists is calling on individuals to sign a pledge to resist payment of a portion of their taxes. Our pledge states, "When I am joined by 100,000 other U.S. taxpayers, I will join in an act of mass civil disobedience and refuse to the portion of my taxes that pays the U.S. military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan." We are aiming for April 15th.
Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig once said, "Let them march all they want, as long as they pay their taxes." And he was right. We can march all we want, but if we cooperate with the funding of the war, we are culpable. There is a great tradition of war tax resistance in the United States. During the Mexican-American War that began in 1846, Henry David Thoreau refused payment of war taxes and called on others to join him in resistance. "If a thousand people were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood."
When Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Thoreau in jail, he asked the author of Walden, "Henry, what are doing in there?" Thoreau responded, "Ralph, what are you doing out there?"
Our statement is not against taxation or government. Many of us will continue to pay a portion of our taxes that support the vital functions of government. But we will hold in escrow or redirect the portion of our war taxes to humanitarian aid projects and projects such as those providing relief to survivors of Hurricane Katrina or supporting the Iraqi refugees who are victims of our disastrous war.
Some might suspect that tax resistance is symbolic and futile. But we want to purposely put a cog in the machine of war tax collection. We believe it will lead to a deepening of opposition as tens of thousands of people say, "I can no longer in good conscience pay for these acts by my government." Mass war tax resistance, on the scale proposed, has never been done in the U.S. The tradition of civil disobedience involves breaking a law in favor of a higher law. It is a statement of non-cooperation with illegitimate authority. There are people for whom this will not be an option or an appropriate expression of resistance. We hope that each of us will consider what additional action and sacrifice we will make to end this war.
As Chris Hedges explained his reasons for tax refusal, "I have friends in Tehran, Gaza, Beirut, Baghdad, Jerusalem and Cairo. They will endure far greater suffering and deprivation. I want to be able, once the slaughter is over, to at least earn the right to ask for their forgiveness." The world and history will judge us by how vigorously we resist the illegal and immoral war tactics of the Bush Administration. My husband, friends and I have decided we can't pay for war anymore. What are you doing out there?
Jodie Evans is co-founder CODEPINK: Women for Peace. They are launching this campaign on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. To learn more about the campaign and view the pledge, visit: www.dontbuybushswar.org
25 Comments so far
Show AllGrousefeather: As far as I am concerned it is a Bush war!!!! He is the one who stood before the nation and harped endlessly on the subject of WMD's until most of us were sick of his lie. Of Iraq being a threat to world peace. Insinuations Saddam had something to do with 9/11. There was a WMD on every street corner in Baghdad. His party backed him all the way. I heard very little out of them. He pushed the war and sold the bill of goods. If you weren't for this war he called you 'UnAmerican', 'unpatriotic' and 'aiding the terrorist's'. So as far as I am concerned the statement is accurate. It is Bush's War all the way up to the responsibility for the mess!
My sister and I both thought about this method 5 years ago. We both objected so vehemently to the war of choice in 2003. But, I imagine the IRS would come after both of us and make an example out of us. I would do it if I thought I could get away with it. But, I am not in the mood to have my Grandchildren visit me in the Federal Pen. So I am a maybe if the rest of you get away with it.
Thank you, David Gross, for offering your 15 Ways to Stop Paying for War. The links offer valuable suggestions on simple living to save both money and natural resources. I bookmarked a lot of those for my research into an article I'm writing titled SAVING IT - A Guide to Urban Survival. Thanks again.
Good job, David Gross!
I quit making enough money to pay taxes in 2000. I've been living from savings, but have been getting better on living on very little, to the extent that I don't ever see the need to make enough money to pay taxes again.
So get off the economy -- starve the beast! While I seriously doubt very many people will choose to give up their illusory "comfort" to this extent, it can be done.
Oh, one more thing: In 2004, I bailed on the US in favour of a "less worse" country that better supports voluntary simplicity with higher no-tax levels of income and universal, free health care for lower-income folk.
Again, not everyone can do this. It also felt a bit like a rat leaving a sinking ship. But I still vote and still protest.
http://www.EcoReality.org
A dollar is a loan from you to the government that printed it. Don't lend to the war-addicted deadbeat.
Do what Brazilians did in the middle of hyperinflation. Invest in stocks, not in savings banks. Don't invest in fixed-interest bonds. Above all, invest abroad. When you own Vestas Wind stock (VWSYF.PK) you own some Danish Kroner. When you own Toyota or Honda you own some Japanese Yen. This is one more way you can vote with your feet.
If you're a couple earning maybe $32,000 income, avoid all income taxes by making a $2,100 IRA contribution. You then take an IRA contribution tax credit that reduces your income taxes to zero. The critical part is driving your Adjusted Gross Income down to $29,900 where you get a whopping 50% tax credit for your IRA.
Now, about tax resistance for moral reasons: I was in IRS jeopardy from 1974 to 2001. I was in a place where I could take these risks. Right now I'm not at all in that place.
You don't have to be young, you just have to have a circle of solid friends helping you. For example, Wally Nelson rented community land where he could grow organic vegetables and sell them, and he didn't have enough social security that the IRS could seize it. So, he then set about to run up meaningless $500 fines from the IRS every day of his life, until he died of old age owing the IRS $100,000 or more. Definitely, a crafty community is the surest way to break the IRS's regulations.
STOP CALLING IT BUSH'S WAR! It's a republican war from top to bottom, Bush is only the front man.
Code Pink notes, of its audacious campaign to get 100,000 Americans to pledge to resist taxes, that "if we succeed, it will be the single largest war tax resistance in U.S. history."
It has been heartwarming to read the comments left by some of those who have signed the pledge so far:
* "After my son's second deployment when he related to me the horrors of the occupation in Iraq, I vowed I would do whatever it took to end it. As we urge our lawmakers to stop funding the war, we have to be willing to do the same. It is time we stop funding with our tax dollars."
— Tina Richards, founder, Grassroots America
* "The world and history will judge us by how vigorously we resist the illegal and immoral war tactics of the Bush Administration. My husband, friends and I have decided we can't pay for war anymore."
— Jodie Evans, Cofounder, Code Pink
* "I won't pay my taxes if you won't pay yours."
— Nina Rothschild Utne, [i]Utne Reader[/i]
* "We should stop the war, whatever it takes. If withholding our income taxes is a way to do it, I am all for that."
— Lee Newman, Retired Captain. U.S. Air Corp, World War II
* "We must stop supporting policies that use our tax dollars to bring violence around the world. Not one cent more."
— Maricela Guzman, Iraq War Veteran U.S. Navy, 1998-2002
* "I am one of the majority of Americans who want the war to end and will be happy to pay my taxes when democracy and the rule of law and the Constitution is restored to our once great nation."
— Steve Savitch, Tuscon, Arizona
* "I increased my deductions to 10 this year. I am so glad for this movement to show me what to do next and for the safety in numbers. I will no longer help kill people."
—Sandee Scott, Pacific Grove, California
* "We must renew the American Revolutionary Spirit. We must have a Velvet Revolution to save America."
— Theadora de Soyza,
New Rochelle, New York
* "If our leaders won't stop this travesty, then We, the People must"
— anonymous, Oregon, Wisconsin
* "Stop feeding the bush war machine… if he thinks the war is so damn important why aren't his daughters on the front lines?"
— Gina Arcuri, Barneveld, New York
* "Time to act for justice and do the right thing. I refuse to pay a war tax!"
— Herb Gonzales, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
* "We must have the courage to take a stand. If enough of us will take this stand, I believe this government will listen."
— Leo Anderson, Austin, Texas
* "I will not pay my taxes to support the war in Iraq."
— Renata Ahmed, Brooklyn, New York
* "As a matter of conscience I will not voluntarily pay my hard earned money to a government whose daily order of business is waging war."
— Michael Zargarov, Houston, Texas
* "When government is out-of-control, citizens must exert control."
— Den Mark Wichar, Vancouver, Washington
* "I refused to pay for an illegal war. It is unconscionable and disgusting that U.S. Congress continues to fund President Bush's war-crimes."
— anonymous, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
* "I am so impressed and proud of your actions. Blessed be."
— Vicki Noble, Freedom, California
* "I may not have much to withhold, but it's all worth it! It's time to stop this crap…"
— Daniel Bryan, Granc Blanc, Michigan
* "Hell nay, I won't pay!"
— Avi Peterson, San Francisco, California
* "United we stand; divided we fall."
— Kristine Abney, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
* "Taxation without representation. Let's fight this together and start restoring democracy."
— Shawn DeFrance, Dallas, Texas
* "Throw the tea into the harbor. 70% of the American people oppose this war. That constitutes taxation without representation. It is time to throw the tea into the harbor. Coincidentally, that is exactly what I have been saying. Let's have a tea party."
— Bobi Meola, Berkeley, California
* "We are retired and don't pay any tax. I fully support your courageous efforts to end this bloody occupation."
— Chris Caldwell, Anaheim, California
* "Yes and though dangerous, I pledge to join in not paying the 7% taxes!"
— Nat Vance, Muskogee, Oklahoma
* "I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Iraq. I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Afghanistan. I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Nicaragua. I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Vietnam. I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Laos. I will not pay my taxes if we bomb Cambodia. Therefore, I don't pay my taxes."
— Dani Visalli, Winthrop, Washington
* "Spend my tax dollars on the good of the nation, not war."
— Jennifer Chacon, Portland, Oregon
* "Together we can bleed the war machine dry by using this non-violent civil disobedience.."
— anonymous, Modesto, California
* "Already had planned to put all of my taxes for this past year in escrow. Refusing to pay 7% is a good start, but is it really impacting enough? As Michael Venturi suggests, they will only borrow from the resources for our poor to kill their poor. The war will continue, and the 7% will be stolen from the 'lock-box.'"
— Alan Scouten, Charlottesville, Virginia
* "Thank you for organizing this.… It is time to act. CodePink consistently does excellent work."
— anonymous, Olympia, Washington
* "'A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.' — Martin Luther King Jr."
— Thomas Fatone, Brooklyn, New York
* "Bravo. I have been advocating for just this to happen for several years."
— Duncan Dow, South San Francisco, California
* "Cherish the people, defund the military machine."
— Doug Mackenzie, Los Gatos, California
* "This is a great idea. Next a national strike!"
— Claire Chang, Gill, Massachusetts
* "I already signed onto NWTRCC's 2008 War Tax Boycott, refused to file for FY2006 and have quit my fulltime job to live below the taxable threshold. If Congress won't defund the war, the last bulwark of democracy, The People, must."
— NTodd Pritsky, Cambridge, Vermont
* "This is a bandwagon that most Republicans should hop onto since they abhor paying taxes. Alert everyone you know about this cause there is larger safety in larger numbers."
— Laura Martin, Clarkson, Georgia
* "Let's protest with our dollars this time."
— Maria Kanaan, Chicago, Illinois
* "Thank you all! If Congress wimps out by giving Bush more $$, than we must not provide it. Enough! I refuse to pay for murder."
— Friend Burton, St. Louis, Missouri
* "Time to defund the war."
— Larry Harper, Sebastopol, California
* "I consider myself in good company — like all the 'traitors' who fought off British control and taxation without representation, who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution."
— Friend Johnson, Cedar Falls, Iowa
* "Let's put our money where our mouths are — since Congress doesn't have the courage to stop funding war — the people will."
— Susan Eleuterio, Highland, Indiana
* "Things have to change with this disasterous war and administration, and women will be the ones to do it."
—
Joni Goodale, Orlando, Florida
* "In a governmental system based on money and corporate profits, the most effective form of protest comes from withholding payment of taxes."
— Daniel Woodham, Greensboro, North Carolina
* "Thank You! It is about time… I am so ready to join those who are ready to live their convictions."
— Tighe Barry, Santa Monica, California
* "With 50% of the federal budget being used for military purposes, I cannot in good conscience pay for war while praying for peace."
— Lincoln Rice, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* "I will refuse to pay taxes for war even if fewer than 100,000 people pledge because I cannot in conscience pay for these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
— Peter Smith, South Bend, Indiana
* "It's about time citizens used their green to bring peace."
— Heli Taylor, Los Angeles, California
* "Not one more dollar!"
— Deidra Lynch, Orlando, Florida
And this is just from those who have signed up by the beginning of the opening weekend of the campaign!
lpenek,
When "conservatives" didn't like what America looked like back in the early to mid-20th century, did they move? NO !!!!! They got their SHIT together and changed the landscape. The fake "left" ain't gonna do jack shit by shitting on us folks who are try to repair the fucking damage. I'd rather be a braveheart liberal/progressive than a COWARD anyday, dude !!
"Good Americans" can now take their place in the history books right along side of the "Good Germans".
We should be ashamed of ourselves that our society produced CODEPINK. But I'm glad that it happened. Maybe now the moms and grand moms of America can get the country returned to its rightful owners.
Hoa binh
Maxpayne,
By that logic the colonists of America should have stayed in Europe and remained persecuted. (Come to think of it, you may be onto something, that would have left American to the natives...) But if you despise what your country is doing, what better way to express it than to deprive it of your presence, divest, sell assets and reinvest somewhere else to your liking. And most important, take your talents with you and share them where they're more deserved.
Unless you're actively rebelling (think black bandanas and machine guns) remaining in a country will always make you complicit in its acts to some degree.
The article said,
"Around the world, people are puzzled as to why the U.S. public allows the Bush administration to wage illegal wars and usurp our power. Why do we tolerate it and continue to pay for it?"
Well DUH!!! Somebody needs to tell these people around the world, that the American people, contrary to popular opinion, have no control or say in their governments actions, and haven't for quite some time now. What we need is a UN led liberation of the American citizens who are having a cowboy boot of oppression ground into their faces by a Corporate-Neo-Fascist coup.
David Cross -- Excellent post.
I divested years ago but perhaps it is time to show Congress how to cut off their heads...by voting all the Fascist bastards out of office.
As an investor, I will do to the US what was done to South Africa in the eighties. I am divesting.
Well, the Democrats just bought another $109 billion of it on a 90-3 vote to cotinue funding the war with no strings attached.
If we all sound like Tree Huggers, we play in the hands of the Bushees and the Clintonites.
Go to Google and hit,"The Carlyle Group" a Bush Family Corporation. Then punch in anything else with it and find out what the Bushees are up to.
Along with the Carlyle Group, punch in "Karzai" and others like "Oil" "Gas Lines"
"Nursing Homes" Find out what the truth is about the Iraq War and the Greed of the Bush corporate Structure. Ignorance might be blessed, but Knowledge is Power, empower yourselves with Bush Knowledge. Don't forget Madeline Albright, another Clinton supporter who supports the bombing of Iran..
Avoid paying war taxes by giving TAX DEDUCTABLE gifts to peace organizations such as Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, American Friends Service Committee, Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Charities, The Menonites, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, Children's Inc., Save the Children, World Vision, American Refugee Committee, Greenpeace, PETA, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, Animal Humane Society, Red Cross, Union Gospel Mission, ACLU, just to name a few. Not only could you reduce your taxable income to the point where you pay no federal taxes, but you could actually do something peaceful with your money.
Peace and Joy
You people have to stop relying on government to spoonfeed you and build yourselves another government. And running away to another country won't solve your problems. Winners like myself are smart to stand up to the system and use it against the enemies. LOSERS would much rather choose to renounce everything and run to another country !
"Our statement is not against taxation or government. Many of us will continue to pay a portion of our taxes that support the vital functions of government."......Let's face reality, here. They can tell us that a certain percentage of taxes go to this or that and another to this or that, but can we really trust their figures?? Can we any longer believe anything they tell us? One thing for sure is that most income tax..if not all..goes to pay the interst on the debt to the International Bankers. Other taxes? Who knows? All we have is THEIR word. Ho! Ho! Ho! Why not put a statement on the Federal Income Tax Forms...."Most of what you pay will go to pay the interest on the debt based currency system with which we have inflicted you, The American Slave. Just so you know." Ho! Ho Ho!
The people who possess the actual political power to run this country and decide what happens (whether Republican or Democrat) don't give a fat free flying fuck what we, the rabble, think or want. Most of the Democrats love the occupation of Iraq as much as the Republicans. These two autocratic kleptocracies must be burned down at the polls and replaced with parties that work for the citizenry and don't consider us rabble "who just don't understand how the world works". Short of that, we can all sit back in our orchestra seats and watch the USA continue to go down the toilet.
You may not have to risk imprisonment and life long harassment by the IRS goons to see the war peter out due to lack of funding....the US is staggering on the verge of an economic depression right now, brought on by our own short sighted greed and corrupt business practices. The housing bubble has exploded in the faces of speculators. Iran will no longer accept US dollars for its oil. Venezuela has threatened this as well--if OPEC goes along, there goes our economy. Funding the war will be the least of Bush's concerns.
It is time for taxpayers who oppose this war to join together in nonviolent civil disobedience ...
Better late than never, I suppose, but I doubt it will happen even now. And, if it does, the other side certainly hasn't been been idle in making preparations.
There must be fifteen ways to stop paying for the war...
1) Join the "Don't Buy Bush's War" campaign
Take the pledge to refuse to pay a portion of your income tax when 100,000 others pledge likewise.
Link -> http://www.dontbuybushswar.org/
2) Join the 2008 War Tax Boycott
Beat the rush and sign up now to start resisting your income tax right away.
Link -> http://wartaxboycott.org/
3) Get under the tax line
More than a third of Americans live under the income tax line today, and with a little knowledge of tax law (and some frugal living strategies) you could be one of them.
Link -> http://sniggle.net/Experiment/index.php?entry=howto
4) Dig the underground economy
Millions of Americans bring in significant earnings from the underground economy, which represents about 10% of the gross domestic product. The IRS believes that the government loses some $200 billion each year because of its inability to enforce a tax on these transactions.
5) Stop smoking
There's a federal excise tax of 39 cents on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States. Drop your smoking habit, and maybe you'll help Congress cut down on their war spending as well.
6) Homebrew your own beer & wine
It's legal (and fun!) to brew your own beer and wine. And when you do, you avoid paying the federal excise tax on alcoholic beverages.
7) Do-it-Yourself
When you do it yourself -- whether it's repairs around the house or cooking your own meals or growing your own vegetables -- you replace taxed commercial transactions with untaxed personal development.
8) Choose a credit union over a bank
Banks are taxed on the profits they make with your money. Credit unions aren't. Enough said.
9) Try barter
Good old trade -- you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. The I.R.S. considers barter to be a taxable transaction, but they have to catch you first!
10) Take up freecycling instead when you have the urge to splurge
Freecyclers use the internet to publish lists of the goods they would like either to give away or to find. You can find anything from building materials to furniture to textbooks to computer parts to baby products to bicycles to guitars and more -- all completely free of charge. The less money you earn and the less money you spend, the less chance the government has to tax you.
11) Leave the car in the garage
Every gallon of gas you put in the tank is another 18.4 cents you're sending to Congress (even more if you drive a diesel). Besides, we all know that the government wouldn't be so eager to invade Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, if they weren't sitting atop all that car juice.
12) Stop paying your phone tax
Each month, most of us unknowingly contribute to the policies we resolutely oppose -- because every local telephone bill includes a 3% federal excise tax. It's easy to stop paying this tax.
Link -> http://www.hanguponwar.org/
13) Quit your job and start working for yourself
You can take more control over your income, your tax withholding, and your tax deductions by going into business for yourself. C'mon. You know you want to.
14) Leave the country and become a taxpatriate
The I.R.S. will still try to tax you and your income anywhere in the world, but if you're in another country they'll have to try a lot harder.
Link -> http://www.escapeartist.com/passports/passport_facts5.html
15) Volunteer to help people get tax refunds
Every year, thousands of low-income Americans who are due tax refunds fail to get them because they are baffled by the complexity of tax filing. The IRS will train you, free-of-charge, to volunteer to help low-income families file for the tax refunds that are coming to them.
Link -> http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=125098,00.html
Great links, thanks David Gross.
How about no more borrowed money for Bush's war?