Arcata Tax Day penny poll invites residents to weigh federal priorities

Outside the Arcata Co-op, about 230 people used ten pennies each to say where Washington should spend. The result was blunt: the military got just 2 percent of the symbolic tax dollars, while Environment drew 20 percent, Education 18 percent and Health 15 percent.

The annual Tax Day Penny Poll is a grassroots exercise in budget democracy held around Tax Day, with similar events in cities across the country. It is not a scientific survey and reflects only the people who choose to participate, but it has become a regular local snapshot of how Arcata residents rank federal priorities when they are asked to sort them by hand.

This year’s totals again pointed toward basic needs over defense. In addition to the strong showing for Environment, Education and Health, 74 percent of the pennies went to Environment, Education, Health, Housing and Social Services combined. That stands in sharp contrast to the actual federal discretionary budget, which local coverage says sends 51 percent to military spending and far less to those five human-needs categories, about 27 percent.

Arcata’s numbers also continued a pattern seen last year. In 2024, about 165 people took part in the Penny Poll at the Arcata Farmers Market, two days before Tax Day. That year, the military received 4 percent, while the same five categories together pulled in 76 percent of the symbolic tax dollars. The shift from 165 participants to about 230 this year suggests the poll remains a small but visible annual ritual for residents who want to register their priorities in public.

The local preference matters because Humboldt County lives with the consequences of federal budget choices in ways that reach beyond abstract politics. The county says its budget runs on a fiscal year from July 1 through June 30, and that annual plan is one of the most important policy decisions it makes. Counties across the United States, according to the National Association of Counties, are on the front lines of infrastructure, public safety, health, housing, elections and disaster response, and they invest nearly $743 billion each year in local communities.

That backdrop gives the Arcata poll more meaning than a simple Tax Day exercise. With the White House releasing its FY2027 budget proposal on April 3, 2026, another round of federal spending fights is already underway. In Arcata, the pennies have again pointed to a clear local identity: more money for the environment, schools and health, and far less for war.