Peaceniks make case on April 15 Peaceniks make case on April 15 (April 23, 2004)

Volunteers at post office table offer literature on government spending

By Dan Stapleton

In the rush to get tax forms filled out and sent in, how many people stop to think about where that money is going? Representatives from Mountain View Voices For Peace stood in front of the Mountain View Post Office on April 15 to raise awareness of government spending.

"We don't even question where our tax money goes. So much of it goes to the military and no one even knows it," said Mike Laster, a retired Mountain View police officer now working with MVVP. Laster describes the organization as non-partisan.

"We're not pushing anything or selling anything. We're Republicans and Democrats and Greens. There's no agenda, we just want to educate people," he said.

Tian Harter, who joined MVVP in 1991 to protest the first Gulf War, described the public's response to their message as positive. "We had one guy tell us he was going to register Green, but that's fairly unusual. A lot of people have been putting money in the bucket though. And I'd say two-thirds of the people who walk by take a flier," he said.

"I am glad they're doing a wonderful job informing us where the money's being spent. It's good that some information is getting out," said Sauro Manganelli, a Mountain View resident who stopped to talk with MVVP on his way out of the post office where he had just mailed his tax returns.

Looking at a pie chart detailing federal tax expenditures, including 29.4 percent for the military and 19.8 percent to pay interest on the National Debt compared to only 3.8 percent for education, Manganelli was disgusted. "I'm not a peacenik or anything, but come on. This is like pornography. It's indecent."

For more information on Mountain View Voices for Peace, visit its Web site at www.mvvp.org.

E-mail Dan Stapleton at dstapleton@mv-voice.com

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