University of Delaware
Media contact:
Barbara Garrison (302) 831-1964 [email protected]
James Morrison 302-831-8541 [email protected]
Closed military bases could be converted into tightly regulated small towns giving thousands of Americans on welfare a fresh start in life, according to a new book by James Morrison, professor of consumer economics at the University of Delaware.
Morrison's The Healing of America: Welfare Reform in the Cyber Economy is a blueprint for establishing self-contained towns, or "renewal communities," that will provide residents with jobs, housing, schools, grassroots crime prevention, governance, recreation, child care and services as part of a contracted package.
The residents of each new community would be selected by a special committee made up of individuals with expertise in small town development. "The people who do the screening would come from the base area: professors, government planners, city residents, day care workers and people who see themselves as mentors," Morrison said.
The base conversions would be paid for by the federal government contracting with private developers. As the homes and businesses are purchased, the government recoups its money. Those who couldn't afford to buy a home immediately would rent to own. Eventually, the towns become self-sustaining when all residents are fully employed and paying taxes.
Morrison is proposing a pilot program consisting of five bases, one from each part of the country, that have the appropriate facilities for conversion into self-managed communities: Alameda Naval Air Station in Alameda, Calif.; Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, N. Y.; Glenview Naval Air Station, in Glenview, Ill.; Dallas Naval Air Station in Texas and Central Florida Research Park in Orlando. All of these bases either closed or slated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission
Morrison has discussed his ideas with U.S. Rep. Michael Castle, Rep-Delaware. He has also sent copies of the book to U.S. Sens. Joseph Biden and William Roth, U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the majority and minority leaders of the U.S. House and Senate.
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