MN Taxpayers Urge Sen. Norm Coleman to Invest in America

Yesterday -- Tax Day -- Minnesota taxpayers gathered outside the office of Senator Norm Coleman to urge him to vote for investment in America, not endless war in Iraq.

At the gathering in Minnesota, taxpayers held up a check for $12.5 billion -- the amount the war has cost the state so far.

With a nationwide recession looking more and more likely, we cannot afford to continue spending more than ten billion dollars a month for a war with no end in sight. As Muriel Vaughan of the Minnesota Women's Political Alliance put it,

"As thousands of Minnesotans head to the post office today to file their taxes, we want answers from Senator Coleman as to how much longer we will continue to spend over $10 billion a month of our national treasure in Iraq while shortchanging critical priorities here at home, like education and healthcare for our kids, seniors and veterans."

Here's the breakdown of the cost of the Iraq war so far, from the Congressional Research Service:

• $123.6 billion every year
• $10.3 billion every month
• $2.4 billion every week
• $338.6 million every day
• $14.1 million every hour
• $235,160 every minute
• $3,919 every second

And here's what we could fund with the money we spend each day in Iraq:

• 2,060 more Border Patrol agents could be hired to protect our borders for a year.
• 18,000 more students could receive Pell Grants to help them attend college for a year.
• 48,000 homeless veterans could be provided with a place to live for a year.
• 317,000 more kids could receive every recommended vaccination for a year.
• 955,000 families could get help with their energy bills through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for a year.
• Nearly 480,000 women, infants and children could receive nutritional help with the WIC program for a year.
• 2.6 million Americans without adequate health insurance could have access to medical and dental care at community health centers for a year.
• More than 100 local communities could make improvements to their drinking water with help from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund for a year.
• 937 additional National Institutes of Health grants for research into diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes could be provided for a year.

Source: House Appropriations Committee

Posted by Americans United For Change Web Team