Dorchester Coalition Demands: Fund Our Communities, Not Military Budget

Hello! How’s everyone doing on this beautiful day to rally for peace?

Are you ready to march?

Are you ready to end the wars abroad?

Are you ready to end the crises here at home?

 

Alright! I’m pleased to be here from Dorchester, on behalf of our local coalition to FUND OUR COMMUNITIES by CUTTING MILITARY SPENDING 25%.

 

We are a grassroots, community-based coalition that is united in our belief that military spending is bankrupting our country and draining the lifeblood of our communities.

 

Like communities across New England and across the country, our neighborhood is facing devastating economic and environmental crises. We are seeing – and resisting – massive amounts of foreclosures and evictions, job losses and lay-offs, cut-backs to vital social services, and persistent violence and injustice in our community.

 

So we are pushing for a solution – the 25% Solution! It is part of a growing regional and national campaign to demand a 25% reduction in spending on weapons, war, and militarism, with 100% of the savings redirected to social and environmental programs here at home.

 

In Boston alone, a 25% reduction in the taxes we pay toward military spending would mean freeing up $500 million a year for programs in our city!

 

Do you think we could use an extra half billion dollars here in Boston?

Could YOU use hundreds of billions of dollars in your community?

 

Politicians keep telling us that there is “NO money” for the programs we need – no money for schools, for jobs, for health care, for affordable housing, for mass transit, for clean energy….

 

But how can they claim there’s NO MONEY for our communities when they continue to spend into the trillions$ on war? Massachusetts taxpayers have already paid over $25 billion for two wars since 2001 and yet our own state’s budget crisis keeps getting worse and worse, with more harsh budget cuts and thousands of more layoffs on the way.

 

To build a powerful, broad-based movement for new spending priorities, we in Dorchester are partnering up with groups in our neighborhood that do important work for social justice, but that need more money to survive and thrive.

 

We are working together with groups like…

City Life/Vida Urbana                                    The Dorchester-Roxbury Labor Committee

 

These partnerships are essential. We know that the anti-war movement cannot win this alone. And we know that we ALL stand to gain by investing in social, racial, and economic justice instead of oppression, armed conflict, and destruction.

 

The many crises causing so much pain in our neighborhoods right now cannot be solved until we stop squandering more than half of our discretionary budget on weapons, occupations, and destructive foreign policies.

 

We invite YOU to join us by seeking and building alliances in your communities, too. I ask you to consider, who are the groups in your area that need more resources to fulfill their mission? How can you work together? How can you partner with teachers? With health care workers? With youth workers? With human service providers? With environmental activists? With affordable housing advocates? With all the constituents that will benefit from ending our excessive spending on war?

 

YOU can help us demand change! In Boston, our Dorchester coalition has urged all candidates for the upcoming city elections to take a stand in support of cutting military spending to improve our community. Join us in urging your local leaders to do the same. 

 

We are also part of a regional petition campaign, collecting signatures and educating our neighbors about the 25% Solution by tabling at community fairs, post offices, and shopping centers. You can sign petitions at many of the tables here today or get resources and get involved at 25percentsolution.org.

 

Our movement has already seen success. This summer, with strong grassroots pressure, Congress finally stopped funding dangerous, egregious, wasteful F-22 weapons. But we know this is not enough. We know it is only just the beginning and we invite you to join us.

 

So as we prepare today to march for peace, to demand justice, to create change…

 

I ask you, would you rather spend your tax dollars on…

 

Jobs?                           Or Bombs?

 

On Schools?                 Or Air Strikes?

 

On Housing?                 Or Occupation?

 

On Clean Energy?         Or Foreign Bases?

 

On Healthcare?             Or Warfare?

 

Together, let’s make it happen!

 

Thank you!