Shuman Dives into How Naval Base Affects Local Economy
March 27, 2018
Post Carbon Fellow Michael Shuman wrote a report about the U.S. Naval base located in the state of Washington on Whidbey Island north of Seattle. The findings of this report are the subject of a Truthout article that is skeptical of the rosy picture painted by the county development council.
From the article:
A 2013 report by the Island County Economic Development Council celebrates Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island in Washington State as “four times the size of the next nearest employer” in the region.
According to that report, NAS Whidbey contributed $726 million to the economy of Island County in 2011, in addition to other ways the military base benefited the community where it is located, such as bringing in funding to local schools and retirement and disability payments to the local economy.
However, a large number of residents from the community surrounding NAS Whidbey — both civilians and people with military backgrounds — have complained about the negative impacts of the Naval base for years. They’ve cited issues ranging from extreme jet noise to environmental and economic concerns.
Because of these concerns, in 2016 they hired Michael Shuman, a nationally recognized expert on local economies, to investigate whether the Naval base was really bringing economic advantages to the community — and what burdens the base was placing on taxpayer-supported services and infrastructure. In his study, published last year, Shuman also investigated how the Navy’s programs at the base were impacting local health and property values.
Shuman is an attorney, economist, and author of four widely used books on local economies, who has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, and Foreign Policy. He told Truthout that the studies which had claimed NAS Whidbey only had positive economic impacts on the community where it is located “are outdated and incomplete” and “say nothing about the costs.”
And the “costs” found by Shuman’s study, The $122 Million Price Tag for The Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, are staggering.