Join the campaign! Email CAPA@ChiPeaceAction.org to get involved.
Unless you are a major corporation like Amazon, you likely paid income tax last year and will again this year. But do you have any idea what our taxes buy? Would it surprise you to learn that in the 2021 budget, military spending will total $969 billion dollars? That is roughly 54% of the discretionary budget. That’s right, over half the money Congress authorizes each year goes to national defense. A reasonable observer might ask, defending us from what? That is more than the next ten countries combined spend on defense and ten of those are U.S. allies.
As were many others, we were deeply inspired by the calls from BIPOC organizers in the summer of 2020 to #DefundThePolice. As peace activists, we know that the key to peace, globally, locally, and interpersonally is not to escalate conflict through state violence or punitive measures, but rather to address the root causes and meet human need.
It is from that movement from which we drew inspiration for our Defund The Pentagon campaign, and in solidarity, we are endorsing the #DefundCPD campaign calling for a 75% decrease of Chicago Police Department budget for it to be reinvested in social services and community programs.
If you would like more information, to volunteer, or intern for CAPA please contact us