Dear Friends,
Following is our letter to the IRS refusing to pay for killing other people, for wars and preparation for wars. Instead, we have made a check to the Department of Health and Human Services for 53% of our taxes owed and have contributed the remaining 47% to programs meeting human and environmental needs.. We hope and pray you will work hard to change our government’s priorities from war and war making to meeting the needs of the people. Our one trillion dollars a year for wars and preparations for wars is not achieving security for the American people, but creating ever more enemies.
Sincerely,
David and Jan Hartsough
Hartsoughs 721 Shrader St., San Francisco, CA 94117 March 5, 2014
Dear Friends at the IRS,
We cannot in conscience pay for the killing of other human beings or pay for war and preparations for war. Human life is too precious to drop bombs on people because we do not like their governments. Developing a new generation of nuclear weapons which could put an end to life on our beautiful planet is insane.
Giving the Pentagon hundreds of billions of dollars when we are cutting funds for schools, libraries, head start programs job training and creation, and now even social security, does not increase the security of our people.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the use of drones have NOT increased our security, but have created more enemies of the United States in both countries, in Pakistan and around the world. Lets end the war on terror and bring the tax dollars home to meet the needs of the American people.
We are Quakers and cannot contribute in any way to the killing of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. We owe a total of $3812 this year and have enclosed a check for $2,020 or 53% of what we owe to the Department of Health and Human Services and ask that you designate all those funds for health and education and human well-being – and NONE for war and killing.
The other 47% (the portion which goes for war and killing) we are contributing to peace and justice activities and programs meeting human and environmental needs in the U.S. and around the world.
Instead of paying for war and killing, we are joining together with others to build a Global Movement to End All War – www.worldbeyondwar.org. We hope and pray that all the taxes from people all over the world can go for schools, good healthcare and housing for all people on earth and a healthy planet for our children and all future generations rather than for wars and killing one another.
Thanks for listening to our concern.
Peace,
David and Jan Hartsough cc SF Chronicle, Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
