Ellison Tells Taxpayers 43 Cents of Every Dollar of Income Taxes Goes to Military

Statement

Press Release: Ellison Tells Taxpayers 43 cents of every dollar of Income Taxes Goes to Military

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minneapolis) reminded Minnesotans as they paid their federal income taxes this week that $ .43 cents of every $1.00 goes to the military. (www.fcnl.org)

"Our taxes support our federal budget and a budget is a moral statement about who matters in our society. A budget is a reflection of our humanity. It indicates about who counts, who doesn't and what our priorities are. When $ .43 cents of every $1.00 goes to the military, the American debt stands at $9.4 TRILLION, our schools and teachers are under-funded, 46 million Americans have no healthcare, and our bridges are collapsing - our priorities are wrong," Ellison stated.

The five year old Iraq War is the main cause of these misplaced spending priorities. The war in Iraq has already cost U.S. taxpayers a staggering $526 BILLION in direct costs and roughly $1.3 TRILLION to the economy. That breaks down to $16,500 for every American family of four, or roughly $3 BILLION for each Congressional District in the country. "Clearly, our economy is going through an Iraq Recession," Ellison stated.

The costs of direct military operations (excluding the long-term medical costs of our returning troops) already exceeds the costs of the Vietnam War, and is more than double the cost of the Korean War. Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph E. Stiglitz, calculates that the eventual cost of the war in Iraq will be about $3 TRILLION.

"The cost of the war in Iraq for Minnesota taxpayers has been about $12 BILLION for the entire state; $3 BILLION for Hennepin County; $770 MILLION for Minneapolis; $115 MILLION for St. Louis Park; $35 MILLION for Hopkins; and even for tiny Elbow Lake in west central Minnesota, the Iraq War costs $2 MILLION for the 1,275 people who live there," Ellison said. (http://nationalprioritiesproject.org)

"In addition to the economic sacrifices we have made, over 4,000 of America's best and brightest young men and women, including 61 young Minnesotans, have given the ultimate sacrifice with their lives for that war," the 5th District Congressman stated.

A study by the RAND Corporation released just this week reported 320,000 U.S. troops received brain injuries, and 300,000 are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Only about half have sought treatment. "Clearly, we are facing a major health crisis for these men and women - on top of the health crisis we already have in this country," Ellison said.

"For the same amount of hard-earned tax dollars spent on this war, we could have provided almost 400,000 5th Congressional District residents with health care, hired almost 24,000 elementary school teachers, or provided 5th District residents with nearly 9,000 affordable housing units," Ellison said.

"The late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey stated, 'the moral test of a society is by how we treat those in the dawn of life - the children; those in the dusk of life - the elderly, and those in the shadow of life - the disabled.' By any measure, this Administration and its war policies have failed every American family," Ellison stated.

A recent poll found that 89% of Americans believe the war in Iraq has contributed to the economic downturn at home.

"What is even worse is that while we spend $12 BILLION a month in Iraq, the Iraqi government is enjoying a $60 BILLION budget surplus created in large part by the price of gasoline Americans are paying for at the pump," Ellison said. "It's double jeopardy!"

"Enough is enough. It's time to let the Iraqi government take responsibility for themselves. It's time to offer our troops and their families the best kind of support we know of: bring them home safely - and end the Iraq Recession for American taxpayers," Ellison concluded.

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