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Peace, Justice and the Federal Budget While there are things to celebrate about Obama's proposed FY 2010 federal budget, there is still a lot of work to be done. WILPF works continuously to analyze current events and proposed legislation. To continue our work critiquing government and corporations from a feminist, peace perspective we need your financial support. Renew your membership, encourage your friends to join, and help us spread WILPF's message on the federal budget.
In the WILPF April E-Newsletter:
US Budget: Moving Towards a Gender Perspective  The United States is in the midst of a crippling recession brought on by unbridled capitalism, which has left millions losing houses, jobs, and economic assets such as the value of retirement savings. This crisis enabled the Obama administration to move swiftly to introduce more progressive economic and budget policies on several fronts. The federal government has increased its share of the national economy in recent decades to 16%, so government spending is essential to any solution to the economic downturn. Click here to continue reading.
Jane Midgley is the former Executive Director of WILPF US and the author of Women and the U.S. Budget: Where the Money Goes and What You Can Do About It (New Society Publishers) Talking Points on the Proposed Military Budget
Click here to continue reading. Read Ray Acheson's analysis of media's coverage of the proposed military budget on the ReachingCriticalWill blog.  Write Op-Ed Pieces!WILPFers: write op-eds to your local newspapers. This is particularly important right now after Obama has called for the elimination of nuclear weapons - while we know this is largely rhetorical, it has created an interest in the subject we haven't seen in a long, long time. Papers are more willing to post view on the subject than they used to be. The same thing is true for the military budget. Here's a primer on writing op-ed pieces, which is based on a workshop at WAM! by The Op-Ed Project. Curious what op-ed editors really think of your submission? Read about Getting Inside the Mind of Editors, another WAM! workshop that featured Marjorie Pritchard, the op-ed editor of the Boston Globe. Consider submitting your op-ed to the American Forum, which offers a free syndication service to smaller, local news outlets.
Women in the Middle East are Suffering Few studies have measured the consequences on women and children living in regions in constant conflict short of declared war. This is true in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) of the West Bank and Gaza (which remains under virtual occupation, despite Israel's "withdrawal"). In the OPT, ongoing hostilities over 60 years, punctuated by periodic wars, have taken their toll. The number of female heads of household has been steadily increasing, while poverty has also been on the rise. Continue reading... Disarm Vigil Resources Branch Action Roundup  Three WILPF branches will be holding Tax Day vigils: Maine in both Bath and Brunswick; Portland, Oregon; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. San Jose, California will be visiting their Congress people's local offices. Click here for more branch news. Need a song for your vigil? Use "I've Always Paid My Taxes," submitted last year by Tucson member, Pat Birnie
On April 3, 2009, Congresswoman Maxine Waters sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting at least $350 million for assistance to Haiti in the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2010. A total of 37 Members of Congress signed this letter. Click here to read the letter. Congress Should Give Cash for Clunkers Last fall Detroit auto executives flew into Washington to predict the  imminent demise of the American auto industry absent an immediate bailout at taxpayer expense. Congress and the White House swiftly obliged, with many billions of dollars in loans, and more to come. All of that went to the producers, and nary a penny to those who would actually buy cars if only they were affordable. The same economy that had trashed Detroit had also trashed them.
Call us trickle-up Keynesians, but it seemed to us more sensible to focus any tax-supported industry bailout on consumers and workers. That is why we proposed a federal subsidy for the trade-in of one's old car for a cleaner, more fuel-efficient one. The old gas-guzzling polluter would go not to the used car lot, but straight to the crusher for recycling. We would put Detroit back to work, and soon clear the fleet of less desirable cars. Click here to continue reading. Good News: Money for Clean Water in Recovery Act and FY10 Budget |
WILPF is a dues paying, membership organization. We rely on donations to carry out our work. Make your contribution to peace and justice today!
JOIN WILPF! Click here to support WILPF's peacebuilding! For more information, visit our website: www.wilpf.org WILPF envisions a transformed world at peace, where there is racial, social and economic justice for all people everywhere.
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