Base closings to strike towns hard

[UpInArms]

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/05/04/sections/nation_world/nation/article_505806.php

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

WASHINGTON – The economic effects of closing U.S. military bases can hit nearby cities and towns like a tsunami, the chairman of a base-closing and realignment commission said Tuesday as the commission began a four-month review to determine the future of scores of bases.

The nine-member commission's heavy lifting starts within the next 12 days after the Pentagon submits its recommendations for closing or restructuring bases it has decided no longer meet the nation's long-term military needs. The deadline for the Pentagon report is May 16, but it could be released by early next week.

"The words 'closure' and 'realignment' are easy to write on paper, but they have profound effects on communities," said Anthony J. Principi, the commission's chairman. "The ripples of the proposals the secretary of defense will soon present to our nation, and to us, will be tsunamis in the communities they hit."

<snip>

The 2005 effort is the latest of five base-closing rounds that have shuttered 97 major bases and hundreds of smaller installations since 1988 for a net savings of nearly $28 billion. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in pressing for further reductions, wants to cut or realign as many as 25 percent of the estimated 450 remaining bases.

...more...

[Kolesar]

1. T.S. Eliot

The huge f##king defense budget hits us hard.

[Charles19]

13. All the income tax for bloated defense budgets hits hard too (n/t)

[flygal]

2. I thought only democratic presidents had base closings

Only Clinton can be to blamed for this - he's destroyed out military through so many cuts that SOB! Oh wait....nevermind.

[Jo March]

17. That's why my Air Force sister voted for chimpy

Democrats are bad for the military. Of course, she's been in Afghanistan and Iraq but I guess that's not "bad."

And yes, even after all of that, she voted for * again.

[elfin]

3. Prediction: Vast majority of closings

will be in "blue" states.

[underpants]

6. Red State bend over and grab your ankles

The vast majority of military bases are in the south so I think that without it looking awfully contrived lots of them red states voters are going to see their economies wrecked....that is until the oil refineries are built there.

MSM has already got the memo and are saying that NIMBY won't apply here because the people will be so desperate for jobs.

Welcome to Dick Cheney's 'Murka

[kevinmc]

7. No doubt about that

[LiberallyInclined]

9. nope.

the vast majority of bases are in the red states- they'll be the ones to bear the brunt.

[hadrons]

4. that Bush vote worked out well, huh???

[KoKo]

5. Didn't I read here that closed bases will be reopened as Oil Refineries?

I don't have the link but reading this where Principi, the head of the commission is making such a gloomy predictions, it does seem he's "softening" folks up to the happy acceptance that conversion to oil refineries would replace the job losses in these communities.

I think they might not have a clue that lots of folks will be very angry about the pollution from oil refineries coming into their communities no matter how desperate they are about losing the military money...

Seems typical of the way the Bushies work. They never look forward to anticipate how their actions will have consequences that backfire on them. :eyes:

[davsand]

8. They understate the impact of base closures even here.

I deal with it EVERY day here where I live. They closed a local Air Force Base here several years ago and the impact goes county wide. The town has never recovered, but what a lot of people don't stop to consider is the impact it has on things like the job market because a lot of people were employed there as civilians.

Additionally, there's an impact it has on the real estate market (lots of buildings are suddenly available--both residential and commercial--and that drives rents and property values down) and the impact it has on schools in that area (suddenly the students are GONE!) Something else to think about; there are huge issues with environmental hazards because the military was never all the worried about stuff like fuel spills and asbestos.

Most of the land and buildings that were turned over to the local town were actually leased (99 year leases) and in those long term leases is a clause that says the military can re-claim those same properties in the event of an "emergency." Most companies refuse to face the idea of investing a lot of money to put up a factory or warehouse only to possibly have to hand it back over if the government so decrees.

I deal with it EVERY freaking day, and I can tell you this is a gawd-awful mess when they shut down a base. Something else? Most of the decisions about base closures really ARE based on the political pull that the various Senators and Congress members have. Expect that any state that didn't carry for the chimp will be raped. Retribution is at hand for specific states. You can count on it.


Laura

[Betsy Ross]

10. Impact on schools too

Alameda, CA was home to a Naval Air Station until the late nineties. During its presence, the federal gov provided a subsidy to the local school district. The state school funding was set based on this subsidy. When the station closed, the subsidy was lost but the state did not re-evaluate the funding. This has been tragic. All the economic benefits of the base reuse have yet to be realized as full turnover has not been completed and funding has not been made available for hazardous waste cleanup. It is a fiasco.

[Skwmom]

11. Close bases here, open up bases in Iraq (boosting their economy). e/o/m

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ZR2]

14. 10...9....8....7

How long till it's gone ?

[underpants]

15. Hey jingoism

ON EDIT- You IDIOT!!!

Read the sig line below. You have bought a lie.

[underpants]

16. No you don't

You are in bed with the enemy.

Democrats don't HATE the things you say-for instance if you hated the military you could...oh....send them to die and be maimed based on a lie meant mainly to further enrich your cronies. Just one example.

You seem to have bitten into that sandwich whole heartedly.

[FlemingsGhost]

18. When you sleep with the dogs, you get fleas.

You're gonna scratch 'til you bleed, America.