Base closures and jobs

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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The Washington Post wrote: "In both houses and parties, sentiment to
protect military installations -- and the tens of thousands of jobs that
go with them -- is running strong."

Let's be clear: Delaying base closure wil not preserve tens of thousands
of jobs. If the military doesn't need people to fuel trucks, cook meals,
or repair aircraft, it won't keep them on the payroll. The armed
services will continue to control a vast amount of real estate that it
doesn't need, but the economic benefits to host communities will
gradually diminish. 

Other than the relatively small number of people needed for maintenance
and security at bases that would otherwise be closed, delaying or even
preventing base closure would not provide net economic benefit to host
communities. It does, of course, affect how those jobs and contracts are distributed.

The opposition to base closure is primarily political. Politicians don't
want to be seen approving the loss of a base in their own districts or
states. Because the 2005 round of base closures has been touted as the
"mother of all base closures," virtually every Representative or Senator
with a base or more back home feels threatened. That, rather than
debates over our evolving military posture, is why base closure
opponents have been able to muster so many votes this year.

Lenny Siegel 




-- 


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
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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