Editor:

It is prudent to consider how the federal government spends the tax money it collects. This is how the federal government spent a single income-tax dollar in 2003: 29 cents for military expenditures, 20 cents on interest on debt (10 cents of that is the military debt share), 5 cents on income security, 4 cents on education, 4 cents on veteran benefits, 3 cents on nutrition, 2 cents on housing, 2 cents on natural resources, .04 cents for job training, 12 cents for various other categories, such as science and technology, energy, agriculture, transportation and several others.

The proposed fiscal year 2005 federal budget is still pending before a House-Senate conference committee. The pending resolution would once again increase sharply military spending, allow previously enacted tax cuts for the wealthiest households to be made permanent sometime at a future date, and cut most other federal programs tens of billions over the next several years.

If you care about education, health care for all, low-income housing, enforcing environmental regulations, or developing renewable energy, and if you believe the U.S. government should be cooperatively and peacefully preventing deadly conflicts instead of waging war, now is the time to contact your congressman and senators, to speak out for the need to shift our federal budget priorities away from military spending and toward addressing these pressing needs.