Plan for Marine Air Station Closure Opens Door to Reader Reactions

If the commission concerned with the homeless is serious (“Supervisors Are Continuing to Sidestep Their Responsibilities,” Commentary, July 7), when stating that we should have a “long-range plan,” please read and seriously consider the following, which has already been suggested to the Commission for U.S. Military Bases and received no answer.

Open all U.S. military bases to all homeless U.S. citizens--for homes and for farms to be worked by these new base occupants; the resulting food would be consumed by these same people and also sold to adjoining townspeople where desired.

Existing workshops, such as laundries, tailors, metal and woodworking shops, etc., would be manned by the newly present “resident base society” (RBS). The above-mentioned name and initials should give these avoided, evaded, passed-by, ignored, and shushed-up people some semblance of dignity to have a title that no longer denotes homelessness.

Base residents not in farm work would be assigned to above-mentioned shops according to each one’s abilities and tastes. All proceeds from sales of farm produce and services in shop work could be paid to the RBS in weekly or monthly tax-free allotments. These disbursements should be handled by RBS in base-operated offices, with each individual base handling its own.

RUTH HULSMAN, Newport Beach