Peace Action ‘Penny Poll’ finds thin support for military spending

On tax day, Coalition for Peace Action seeks to determine budget priorities

By: Kara Fitzpatrick
   Princetonians want to see more tax dollars devoted to education and less to the military, according to the Coalition for Peace Action "Penny Poll" — an exercise conducted Monday outside the Palmer Square Post Office.
   The poll was held in order to gauge what residents believe are the most worthy recipients of government funds.
   The poll was conducted from noon to 1 p.m. on the income-tax filing deadline. As people approached the post office, they were invited to express their opinion on how they would like to see federal tax dollars spent, organizers said.
   According to organizers, each of the 90 participants was given 10 pennies and asked to then distribute them among five tubes representing categories of federal spending.
   The five categories were: education, environment, health care, housing and military.
   The results were:
   • Education, 310 pennies.
   • Health care, 238 pennies.
   • Environment, 192 pennies.
   • Housing, 98 pennies.
   • Military, 63 pennies.
   A breakdown of the results shows that participants believe 34 percent of the total budget should be spent on education, 26 percent on health care, 21 percent on the environment, 11 percent on housing and just 7 percent on the military, according to the coalition.
   "This year’s results remain consistent with results from over many years," said the Rev. Bob Moore, the coalition’s executive director.
   "Each poll has consistently shown that taxpayers want more of their hard-earned tax dollars going to education and health care, and far less to military purposes," the Rev. Moore added.
   According to Carol Allen, co-chair of the coalition’s political action committee, the penny poll is not exclusive to Princeton and numerous organizations hold it on tax-filing day.
   Ms. Allen said the poll is a way to learn what programs and services local residents want to see funded by the government.
   "When we do this in Palmer Square, education is always highest," Ms. Allen noted.