[CPEO-IRF] "Don't fear the BRAC"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Don't fear the BRAC--communities can bounce back

Editorial
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (VA)
August 14, 2005


ATTENTION, communities on the newest Base Realignment and Closure list: 
Don't panic. Don't cancel your plans for a prosperous future. Don't 
waste your money on a lobbyist who promises to save your base, because 
he can't.

Instead, talk to leaders in communities that have gone through the 
process in years past. You'll find that, although initially painful, 
closings of outdated or unneeded military facilities don't keep local 
economies down for long.

A new study from The Heritage Foundation looked at prior base closures 
in three environments: Southern California, with its urban nature and 
heavy Navy presence; Indiana, less populated and with a strong Air Force 
component; and Alabama, more rural and primarily an Army location. It 
found that, in almost every case, communities that lost military 
facilities regained 90 percent or more of the displaced jobs and per 
capita income within six years.

...

For the entire article, see
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/082005/08142005/119839


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
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