[GVCP] Jim Allen’s letter to the editor of the LCN

May 14, 2015

Dear GVCP Member, GVCP member Jim Allen sent this letter to the editor, and it was published in the LCN. When I complimented Jim, he said something like, ³Well, it was pretty basic.² In my opinion, that is the strength of a letter like this. Most of us sit at the computer thinking about what a good idea it would be to write a letter to the editor. However, we want to craft the letter brilliantly, and make subtle points that will be not only trenchant, but also unassailable. My thought is that one solid, basic LTE like this one is worth a hundred perfect letters that haven¹t been written! Let¹s follow Jim¹s example and send some letters like this letter to the LCN or the D&C. Peace, Arnie Matlin for GVCP Editor, Livingston County News It¹s tax season again. Do you think you pay too much in Federal income taxes? If you do, blame military spending. Forty-five percent of Federal income taxes go to support military spending, according to the War Resisters League. And of course that is way too much. Did you know that the U.S. spends 3.8% of its GDP on its military, according to the World Bank? This is much more than almost any other country, and a third more than our most likely adversary, China, whose military spending amounts to 2.1% of its GDP. Furthermore, the U.S. spends more on its military than the next eight highest spending countries combined, according to the Peterson Foundation. We could cut our military spending in half, and still spend about three times as much as China does. Think what we could do with the money we saved from reduced military spending. In addition to reducing your taxes, we could also use it to help fund local schools whose financial troubles have been such a big topic of discussion in this newspaper lately. Jim Allen Geneseo doc icon LCN-military-spending-letter15.docx

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