Giant Oreos Make Civics Lesson Digestible; Cookies Used to Explain How Americans Want Federal Taxes Spent
You might think giant Oreo cookies would give kids a big tummy ache.
But the giant $10 billion Oreos aboard the OreoMobile actually explain how changing our federal budget priorities can make local dreams come true. Shifting funds wasted on obsolete Cold-War era weapons, will make kids healthier by providing insurance for all 9 million uninsured children, rebuild and modernize our K-12 public schools, reduce America's use of oil by half, create millions of jobs in local communities, prevent the starvation deaths of 6 million children around the world and even start reducing the deficit.
Our OreoMobile is actually a colossal rolling bar chart and stage for actors who in a rollicking 10 minute demonstration, actually climb atop the 13' tall stack of gravity defying confections and grab 6 of the Pentagon's 50 $10 billion cookies to spend the way our polling shows most Americans want. http://65.109.167.118/pipa/pdf/mar05/FedBudget_Mar05_rpt.pdf
Designed by our very own dessert maven, Priorities! campaign head Ben Cohen, the OreoMobile has been touring the early presidential and primary and caucus states for the past 2 ½ years. The OreoMobile has appeared more than 200 times before public schools, universities, labor organizations, religious groups, health care advocates, state legislators and town halls. Organizational endorsements in Iowa include AFSCME, Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, the Alliance for Global Justice, Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Iowa for Health Care (SEIU), Iowa Citizen Action Network, Iowa Community Action Network, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Iowa chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Working Families Win, among many others. In New Hampshire, endorsers include New Hampshire for Health Care (SEIU), New Hampshire AFL-CIO, the New Hampshire Council of Churches, Unitarian Universalist New Hampshire Faithful Democracy, New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, Early Learning New Hampshire, Environment New Hampshire and Clean Water Action, among others.
Now in South Carolina, the OreoMobile has been traveling from end of the Palmetto state to the other and will soon head west to Nevada. Implementing the Priorities! campaign is legislation pending in Congress entitled the Common Sense Budget Act, HR 1702. And here's the sweet message the OreoMobile and Priorities! campaign bring to our states and local communities:
$35 billion per year would be provided to states and communities for local needs. Proportionately, South Carolina would receive $500 million every year; Nevada would receive $ 278 million; Iowa would receive $352 million; and New Hampshire would receive $154 million. That's enough money to create thousands of jobs in each of those states, provide health care coverage for every uninsured kid; rebuild and modernize all K-12 public schools and offer job training and support for tens of thousands of laid off workers, among other priorities. And all of this can be accomplished without raising a single dime in local, state or federal taxes.
Canceling Pentagon weapons systems designed to fight the collapsed Soviet Union is not being weak on defense, said Ben Cohen. It is rebuilding our schools, providing health care for our kids, training our workforce for decent jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating a good quality of life for all of us.
To bring the OreoMobile to your group in South Carolina or Nevada, email the Oreo Wrangler, Aaron@SensiblePriorities.org
But the giant $10 billion Oreos aboard the OreoMobile actually explain how changing our federal budget priorities can make local dreams come true. Shifting funds wasted on obsolete Cold-War era weapons, will make kids healthier by providing insurance for all 9 million uninsured children, rebuild and modernize our K-12 public schools, reduce America's use of oil by half, create millions of jobs in local communities, prevent the starvation deaths of 6 million children around the world and even start reducing the deficit. 
been touring the early presidential and primary and caucus states for the past 2 ½ years. The OreoMobile has appeared more than 200 times before public schools, universities, labor organizations, religious groups, health care advocates, state legislators and town halls. Organizational endorsements in Iowa include AFSCME, Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, the Alliance for Global Justice, Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Iowa for Health Care (SEIU), Iowa Citizen Action Network, Iowa Community Action Network, Methodist Federation for Social Action, Iowa chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Working Families Win, among many others. In New Hampshire, endorsers include New Hampshire for Health Care (SEIU), New Hampshire AFL-CIO, the New Hampshire Council of Churches, Unitarian Universalist New Hampshire Faithful Democracy, New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, Early Learning New Hampshire, Environment New Hampshire and Clean Water Action, among others.