The Costs of Being the "Most Military-Friendly State in America"
Institute for Southern Studies
Southern Exposure (Vol. 35, Nos. 1 & 2)
March 2007
Billboards across the state declare North Carolina's motto: "Most military-friendly state." North Carolina has long been hospitable to the nation's armed forces, serving as the headquarters of key military bases and the home of many soldiers, deeply influencing the politics, economics and culture of the state.
But banking on military bases and defense dollars is a risky economic strategy: base towns rise and fall by constantly-shifting troops deployments; decisions about base sizes and defense contracts often hinge on back-room Washington deal-making. Thousands of livelihoods and lives in our state are increasingly dependent on the White House and Congress and their decision to take our country to war.
As the casualties and money needed for war escalate and opposition grows in North Carolina and beyond, this report examines the costs of basing the state's economic and political future on war.
This special Southern Exposure/Institute for Southern Studies report [pdf] was put together by a team of researchers and students to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war.
For a full copy of the report, visit here [pdf]. You can read the press release here.
Institute for Southern Studies
Southern Exposure (Vol. 35, Nos. 1 & 2)
March 2007
Billboards across the state declare North Carolina's motto: "Most military-friendly state." North Carolina has long been hospitable to the nation's armed forces, serving as the headquarters of key military bases and the home of many soldiers, deeply influencing the politics, economics and culture of the state.
But banking on military bases and defense dollars is a risky economic strategy: base towns rise and fall by constantly-shifting troops deployments; decisions about base sizes and defense contracts often hinge on back-room Washington deal-making. Thousands of livelihoods and lives in our state are increasingly dependent on the White House and Congress and their decision to take our country to war.
As the casualties and money needed for war escalate and opposition grows in North Carolina and beyond, this report examines the costs of basing the state's economic and political future on war.
This special Southern Exposure/Institute for Southern Studies report [pdf] was put together by a team of researchers and students to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war.
For a full copy of the report, visit here [pdf]. You can read the press release here.
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