Penny Poll
Dear Editor: Fifty-one Sitka residents participated in a tax day penny poll on April 14 to let their federal elected representatives know how they want their federal tax dollars to be spent.
To encourage participation by a broad range of community members, the penny poll was held at Kettleson Memorial Library. Participants represented diverse interests, including educators, health care professionals, small business owners and employees, fishermen, public service employees, unemployed, students and retirees.
Voters were given 10 pennies to distribute among 16 jars representing federal programs. An equal number of military and non-military categories were included to mirror the current federal budget, which is split almost evenly between military and non-military programs.
Penny poll participants could also use their pennies to vote for tax increases for the wealthiest Americans. Currently, tax breaks for the wealthy reduce funds that could be used to support government programs.
Education, environmental protection and healthcare received the highest number of votes. The development and production of nuclear weapons and drones program were the least popular programs.
Results of the poll indicate that Sitka residents disagree with current federal budget priorities in a number ways. If Sitkans had their way, only 15 percent of total budget outlays would go to military spending, while 85 percent would go to non-military programs. Currently, 47 percent of the President’s FY 2014 budget, or $1,334 billion, is earmarked for military programs.
Veterans benefits and the Coast Guard garnered the largest number of penny poll votes among military programs. The President’s FY 2014 budget includes a 10 percent increase in veterans benefits relative to FY 2013 levels, to $146 billion. The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security and its mission includes both a military and non-military role. Its budget would be reduced from $11 billion in FY 2013 to $9.8 billion in 2014 based on the President’s proposed budget.
The war in Afghanistan received only 6 pennies, or 1.3 percent of penny poll votes. The President’s FY 2014 budget allocates $3.4 billion for the war in Afghanistan, despite the planned withdrawal of U.S. of combat troops (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/).
Poll results suggest that Sitkans see national security better served by supporting humanitarian aid programs that increase the health and well-being of people worldwide. Penny poll participants allocated 8.7 percent of the federal budget for international humanitarian aid. Currently, the United States spends less than 1 percent of its federal budget on poverty-focused assistance to other countries. That makes the U.S. the smallest contributor among major donor governments (http://www.care.org/getinvolved/advocacy/budget_factsheet.asp). President Obama’s FY 2014 budget provides $48.2 billion for development and humanitarian assistance through USAID and other international programs for health, food security, and environmental, economic, and social ramifications of global climate change. That represents a decrease of 7 percent over 2013 levels (http://www.interaction.org/document/weekly-public-policy-update-april-8-12-2013).
Sitka residents allocated 11 percent of the federal budget to arts and culture. In contrast, the federal budget currently provides minuscule funding for arts, humanities and cultural programs. The President’s FY 2014 budget calls for a small increase in spending for arts and culture over 2013 levels, to $154.5 million (http://chronicle.com/article/ArtsHumanities-Endowments/138471/)
Penny poll voters allocated 7.8 percent of their pennies to express support for tax increases for the wealthiest Americans. The President’s FY 2014 budget closes tax loopholes and reduces tax benefits for the wealthiest, but also includes cutbacks in Medicare payments and the cost-of-living adjustments paid to millions of recipients in Social Security and other government programs.
To find out how the federal government spent every penny of your income tax in 2012, enter the amount of federal income tax you paid in this interactive tool on the National Priorities Project website: http://nationalpriorities.org/en/interactive-data/taxday/
Poll organizers would like to thank members of the community who participated in the penny poll. A special thank-you to Sarah Bell and the Kettleson Memorial Library staff for hosting the poll. We are fortunate to have a public library that supports the rich exchange of ideas, experiences and perspectives. This year the penny poll included a category for library funding that garnered a 10 percent of the penny poll vote!
Results from the poll will be shared with our federal elected representatives, Senators Murkowski and Begich, Congressman Young, and President Obama. For a copy of the complete 2013 penny poll report, contact Cindy Litman, cindylitman@gmail.com
Poll results: education 17.6; environmental protection 14; healthcare 12.3; arts and culture 11; libraries 10; world hunger/world health 8.7; food security 6.8; veterans benefits 5.3; Coast Guard 5.1; infrastructure 5.1; war in Afghanistan 1.3; Homeland Security (defense portion) 1.1; military operation and maintenance 1.1; military bases in foreign countries .8; nuclear weapons .2 and drones programs .2.
Cindy Litman, Sitka
