political activism in the cities- non theist (Porter: taxes, live in)

[menoninblack]

Hi,
I'm an immigrant in this country, I pay a good amount of taxes but I can't vote nor influence any policy (for instance, why 52% of my taxes fund the war machine) Perhaps I'll get a lot of grief on this website for saying this but I hope not, I really love that Minnesota is such a progressive state where such opinions can be heard.

I was wondering if anybody on this forum is part of a non-religious institution that does progressive political activism, especially on economic policy, fiscal policy etc. Perhaps someone like me who might be in a similar situation as in immigrant. I'm imagining talks, debates, information sessions where I could probably participate. I know of some religious ones that are really good but I'm not really about the churches and stuff (no offence intended).

Would anybody have any suggestions or recommendations of places or organizations that such discussions happen? I live in Merriam park and I would like to go places in either of the downtowns or somewhere I wouldn't have to drive too far to.

I look forward to hearing from you!

[Ghengis]

I too found it unsettling that my taxes were funding bombs and bomb delivery technology. A few years back I sent a post-it note attached to my Fed Tax a request that my taxes going forward are only used for parks and fixing bridges and stuff. They sent me a letter back saying that would be no problem as they get plenty of money from the others and appreciated my feedback.

[cheddar]

Originally Posted by menoninblack

Hi,
I'm an immigrant in this country, I pay a good amount of taxes but I can't vote nor influence any policy (for instance, why 52% of my taxes fund the war machine)


I look forward to hearing from you!

National defense accounts for about 16% of the total federal budget. Over half of the federal budget goes for social security, Medicare, and other health subsidies. The other half includes transportation, poverty assistance, and many other categories of spending.

[menoninblack]

Originally Posted by Dogwood Porter

maybe check out Mayday Books

Thanks for that suggestion, didn't occur to me

[menoninblack]

Originally Posted by cheddar

National defense accounts for about 16% of the total federal budget. Over half of the federal budget goes for social security, Medicare, and other health subsidies. The other half includes transportation, poverty assistance, and many other categories of spending.

Thanks! My numbers were from some hit piece, I guess it's not as bad as I thought but it's still quite much I suppose.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by cheddar

National defense accounts for about 16% of the total federal budget. Over half of the federal budget goes for social security, Medicare, and other health subsidies. The other half includes transportation, poverty assistance, and many other categories of spending.

Not sure how accurate this site is, but it's an interesting breakdown:

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/b...-101/spending/

[Googol]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Not sure how accurate this site is, but it's an interesting breakdown:
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/b...-101/spending/

Excellent link @rcsteiner ... the US is number 1 globally in military spending and out spends #2 (china),#3 (ksa) and #4 (russia) put together