Every year the folks from Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) take a penny poll to see where taypayers would actually put their hard-earned federal taxes. In past years, the Eugene results have shown that Eugene taxpayers want to fund the environment and human services and not-so-much on the military.
For the poll, which takes place at the Old Federal Building, people are handed 10 pennies, which they put in jars representing a six-category breakdown of the federal budget.
Last year, in 2018: “The highest number of pennies went to environmental services at 39 percent. Twenty-one percent of the funds went to human services, 19 percent to veteran services, 11 percent to general government and 6 percent to the national debt. The military got the least amount of pennies at 3 percent.”
This year there will be a Tax Day Rally and March starting with the penny poll 3:30 at the Old Federal Building, 7th and Pearl. There will be a rally with speakers and music, the press release from CALC says, and “Speakers will be calling on Congress to redirect war dollars to fight climate change, fund education, job creation, universal health care, environmental protection, and other vital services.”
Finally, event organizers will drop off a letter at the Internal Revenue Service office “calling for this redirection of tax dollars and later will be giving the same letter to congressional staff” at the Federal Courthouse, 405 E. 8th Avenue.
The march and rally are sponsored by Community Alliance of Lane County, 350 Eugene, Extinction Rebellion (XR), Taxes for Peace Not War, WAND, Indivisible Eugene, ESSN and Beyond War.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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