Public comment vital about proposed JBLM cuts

[unhappycamper]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/08/01/3311823/public-comment-vital-about-proposed.html?sp=/99/447/



Public comment vital about proposed JBLM cuts
By John Caulfield
Contributing writer
August 1, 2014

The pulses of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the City of Lakewood and the South Sound region beat as one.

JBLM is the largest single-site employer in Washington state and the state’s second-largest employer behind on the Boeing Co., whose factories and manufacturing plants are spread across Washington. JBLM is the West Coast’s largest joint base and a vital asset to our region, contributing mightily to our local, regional and statewide economy, employing thousands of service members as well as hundreds of contractors.

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In its assessment, the Army found that a reduction of 16,000 soldier and civilian positions – all of which carry average salaries of $46,760 and $57,361 respectively – would result in a “significant impact to socioeconomic resources.”

Even with that acknowledgement, however, the assessment grossly underestimates how much the potential cuts would hurt our region economically. The cuts would eliminate a chunk of JBLM’s workforce, and therefore a significant portion of the South Sound’s economy.