« Keeping An Eye On The NEA | Main | The Dems' New Hope: More Poll-driven Policy »
July 13, 2005
Base Closures And Local Economies
Jack Spencer at the Heritage Foundation busts some popular myths concerning Congress' Base Realignment and Closure process:
One of the primary criticisms of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process is that it devastates communities economically. Aside from the fact that the Department of Defense (DOD) is not a jobs program, these criticisms are simply not true. Most affected communities have recovered nicely from past BRAC rounds, with approximately 90 percent of all jobs being replaced. Indeed, approximately 115,000 jobs have been created through past recovery efforts, and many communities have actually prospered.
Not a jobs program, indeed. "Supporting the troops" means maximizing their effectiveness by making sure our tax dollars are spent most efficiently--and that means closing underutilized or obsolete bases.
Spencer concludes by listing ten examples of base closures that, through proactive and assertive planning by the local communities, have made successes out of initially negative situations.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.thebernoullieffect.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/235
Comments
In this case, I guess "supporting the troops" is more like "CYA."
Posted by: Pam M. at July 14, 2005 09:32 AM
Yeah, CYA and NIMBY.
Posted by: Jeff at July 14, 2005 09:51 AM
