Friday, April 18, 2008

National NIMBYism

I was watching the news the other day in Marks and Spencer - they have a little seating section with a tv, I guess designed for men waiting for their lady folk to emerge from the changing rooms. On the box was a political discussion programme talking about the US missile defence system, the radar for which is planned to be in the Czech Republic.

During an interview with a Green Party MP a comment was made that it was wrong to have foreign soldiers based on Czech soil . This got me thinking:

The Czech Republic is part of NATO and as such has responsibilities toward the organisation and the allies that form that organisation. In return the Czech Republic has the might of the USA and other allies in the event of an attack - however, seemingly unlikely. The missile defence scheme is not just about protecting the USA from attack, but also provides coverage for the majority of NATO members.

Inevitably the installation of an American military base will bring benefits to wherever it is located. I don't mean in terms of money spent by the military in local shops, unfortunately it would seem that many US service people don't interact much with local communities when stationed there. However it will provide jobs and a boost to the economy. Let's not forget that outside of Prague there are plenty of areas with high unemployment. Such a base would inevitably help the local economy:

People with jobs have more money
People with more money, spend money
People with money to spend need places to spend
The places where people with money spend money become more profitable
Profitable companies can expand and create more jobs.

And so the cycle goes on.

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