The United States spends almost as much on its military as all the other countries of the world combined. More than half of all US annual discretionary spending goes to the military and war fighting. The 25% solution is the focus of a nation-wide campaign to cut military spending and fund urgent needs- jobs in housing, health care, education, clean energy and infrastructure repairs, programs that benefit our communities and vulnerable, hungry, and poor people in the US and abroad. We will be participating in the vigil as part of the Massachusetts 25% Solution campaign. The vigil will be held on Saturday, April 16, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon on the Walpole Common, along Common and Front Streets, across from the Post Office. We will be holding a ‘budget banner’ showing the proportional spending across the budgets. We will also be handing out a fact sheet and gathering signatures for a petition. Since the budget banner is so long (due in large part to the lengthy military spending component!) we will need many hands to hold it. Additional people will be needed to distribute the fact sheets and gather signatures. Your help in taking a stand and making this statement will be very much appreciated.
