Small Army Speaks to El Toro Closure Plan
With all the talk now of change and investing in the future, we feel Orange County should be excited about the closing of the El Toro military base. While we don’t deny there will be short-term pain (how else can you have change?), we want to make these points about the proposed closing:
1. Californians voted for Clinton, so no one should be surprised about reduced military spending.
2. Isn’t it hypocritical for wealthy Orange County to say we can’t close our base, and thereby force bases in poorer parts of the country to close?
3. Nobody runs a business purely to create jobs, so isn’t it also pointless to keep El Toro open just to offer jobs? Surely our local economy would be far better off with this land in private hands who would build factories, stores and offices, (thus) providing productive private sector jobs.
4. When enemy troops wade ashore in Newport Beach, then we’ll believe El Toro serves a strategic need.
JEFF AND ELIZABETH CRAMPTON
Laguna Niguel
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