The South and War

NORTH CAROLINA AT WAR

The Costs of Being the "Most Military-Friendly
State in America"
March 2007

MAY 2007: Listen to Chris Kromm, Executive Director of the Institute, discuss "North Carolina at War" on North Carolina Public Radio's popular show, The State of Things (aired May 10)

Billboards across North Carolina declare the state’s new slogan: “the most military-friendly state in America.” But a new report from the Institute for Southern Studies/Southern Exposure (pdf) finds North Carolina is suffering “devastating costs” from war, and calls on state officials to rethink their push to make the state more dependent on military dollars.

The new report was put together by a team of researchers and students across the state to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war. The study also comes after the launch of the N.C. Military Foundation last December, a public-private entity which aims to lure more defense contracts to North Carolina.

“State officials are pushing hard to increase North Carolina’s dependence on the military, touting big economic gains – but what do we lose in the bargain?” said Chris Kromm, director of the non-profit research center. “Leaders need to slow down and look at the costs, from lost lives and damaged communities, to the ‘boom-bust’ nature of a war spending.”

Read the full report (pdf)
Read the press release (pdf)

Previous Institute research reports on peace and security issues in the South:

The South and Iraq - Results of the first South-wide poll on attitudes towards Iraq (October 2006)
Missiles and Magnolias - Why the South stands the most to gain -- and the most to lose -- from war (August 2005)