Michigan Forum on Jobs and Human Needs: March 5, 2011

Lansing, Michigan
March 5, 2011

Photos by Tom Rico and the Peace Education Center

State legislators, city council members, union leaders, and local groups working on homelessness, hunger and housing joined with local peace activists to urge members of Congress to provide more financial aid to their cash-strapped state and local governments.

The March 5 forum in Lansing, Michigan, which was organized by FCNL and the Michigan Peace Budget Coalition, was designed to bring together local organizations that could urge Michigan's elected representatives in Washington to press for cuts in the Pentagon budget that would free up more money for priorities in the state.

Many of the forum's organizers were involved in an impressive letter to Sen. Stabenow in February 2010. This letter was signed by over 230 individuals, elected officials, organizations and religious leaders.

"When we spend more on the defense budget, on the military, on war, we end up getting less back in Michigan." - Michigan State Rep. Joan Bauer

Interested in having a similar forum in your community? Contact Ruth Flower for more information.

Watch the Event:

• Morning Session (1 hour, 47 minutes)
• Afternoon Session (2 hours, 25 minutes)

Media Coverage

• "Leaders Discuss How Federal Budget Cuts Affect Michigan" (WILX.com, March 5, 2011).
• "Forum Held on War Spending" (WLNS.com, March 6, 2011)

Take Action

Senate leaders are working to cut the budget in ways that will not wreck the economy, lose jobs, or hurt vulnerable people. The bloated Pentagon budget could withstand significant cuts without putting U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan in more danger, according to a report by the Sustainable Defense Task Force.

Call your senator to show your support for significant cuts to the Pentagon. The number for the Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. A script for your phone call could be:

Hi, I'm ______________, I work as a ____________ (nurse, doctor, lawyer, etc.) and I'm concerned that our local budget is being cut substantially and federal government aid is being cut even more. I would like you, Senator _________, to cut the Pentagon budget by at least $100 billion this year to free up more money for all of our state priorities. The Pentagon wastes more in a year than most of our state governments have to spend. It's time to cut the Pentagon.

A National Effort

To receive email updates on FCNL's efforts to cut the Pentagon budget, subscribe to "Checking In on Our Nation's Checkbook" (one email per month).

FCNL's Our Nation's Checkbook campaign has been working in communities across the country to shift money from the Pentagon to meet other needs.

Read this letter to the editor in Tampa Bay Online by grassroots lobbyist Karen Putney. She writes, "While we are watching our state and federal officials present slash-and-burn budgets, we also notice that they rarely invoke the necessity of ending the war in Afghanistan or cutting the Pentagon budget," in response to this letter from County Commissioner Marke Sharpe.