To the editor:
If you are fed up with the state of our economy and feel we need an economic plan that works for everyone in Massachusetts vote yes Nov. 6 on the non-binding referendum question, Budget for All.
It asks our state representatives to vote in favor of a resolution calling upon Congress and the President to (1) prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other vital programs; (2) create and protect jobs by investing in manufacturing, schools, housing, renewable energy, transportation and other public services; (3) end offshore tax havens and tax cuts on the highest incomes; (4) reduce the military budget and bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan NOW.
Note that the New York Times Sunday, October 14 lengthy lead editorial - “Time to Pack Up” stated that the U.S. should withdraw our troops from Afghanistan next year, a year earlier than President Obama’s December 2014 goal. We have been involved in 2 wars over the past eleven years. The American taxpayers have spent over 4 trillion dollars since 2001 in Afghanistan. Keeping one American service member in that country costs between $850,000 and $1.4 million a year, depending on who you ask, but one matter is clear, that cost is going up. Certainly, we taxpayers can reduce our economic burden by bringing our military home, and at the same time bring sanity and some peace to our lives. Instead of funding wars, our taxes should go to improving schools, infrastructure, and more businesses that will help lower our energy needs, giving us a sense of pride again, and vital programs such as Medicare and Social Security would be left intact. Vote YES on the Budget for All referendum.
Barbara J Haack
West Newbury
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