Closing Military Bases Is Good — even for the local community:
Closing military bases is turning into a financial bonanza for the military, as well as the areas where the bases are located. Many bases have, over the years, found themselves getting surrounded by growing suburbs, or even urban growth. Although it is widely known that the bases closed in the last 18 years have actually helped the local communities (on average), it’s still a politically sensitive act. Some local politician will always raise a stink and the local congressman and senator will feel compelled to ‘do something’ in Washington to save the base. In the last decade, closed bases have usually attracted commercial firms, that move in and provide more, and higher paying, jobs. The former base property now pays local taxes, which reduces the tax load for everyone else in the area.