Posted on 10/25/2007 5:48:35 PM PDT by Kaslin
Big Government: Washington pundits moan about the "rich getting richer" on Wall Street. But new census data reveal the seat of wealth in this country has shifted to their own backyard.
The nation's capital has replaced Silicon Valley and the New York area as the center of affluence in America. The wealthiest Americans are no longer just investors and entrepreneurs, but federal workers and contractors.
There's something really rotten about this trend.
How can the seat of government in a capitalist society double as its seat of wealth? The late Milton Friedman, who warned about the growing mix of government in the U.S. economy, must be turning in his grave.
According to the Census Bureau, the nation's three richest counties — and half the top 10 — are now all located near Washington, where they gorge on the tax dollars you send there.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
A really stupid comment.
Areas inhabited almost exclusively by upper middle class government workers have high average income. Giant surprise.
I bet this area has remarkably few really wealthy people. They are still businessmen and entrepeneurs.
Everyone reading this should hop in their car and drive (or otherwise take a trip) to the Washington, DC area and take a look at where their tax money is going and has gone.
Then go back to your home and get to work. Those folks need your money!
All federal government headquarters organizations are located in the DC area, so the surrounding area have the employees (usually highly educated) necessary for such organizations to operate.
There are hardly any secretaries or clerktypists anymore anyway to drag the average down.
America's richest county is pretty much middle-class, overtaxed, and has the second longest commute to work in the country.
All roads lead to Rome?
This is where the real money goes. It is all the tax money you are saving through "privatization" which means hiring private individuals to do what used to be done by civil servants.
Aw, come on. That's kind of a technicality. Yes, they're technically outside of the Beltway, but they're still very close to DC, and for folks around the US, that's what "the Beltway" means: not so much a road, but an area surrounding DC. As the suburbs spread, the area becomes larger.
The concentration of wealth in this area has less to do with federal contracting than with entrepreneurship. Billionaire Craig Venter, who lives in Potomac, is not a federal contractor. Nor is the Mars family of Rappahannock County, or Sheila Johnson, the billionare co-founder of BET, or or or. This is an area that's full of people with intelligence, education, drive, and opportunity. They start businesses and work hard to become rich in IT or biotech or some other form of innovation.
And, yeah, there are altogether too many lawyers. I think it's some kind of a rule here that a woman has to hold a JD degree.
I’ve nothing against privatization but when I was in the Air Force too often that meant that a blue suiter making 40K in pay and benefits was replaced by a civilian making 100K in pay and benefits. But the Air Force had a valid reason to replace the blue suiter who was then deployable to X, Y or Z.
I’m not defending federal employees but any privatization should save money; not cost more.
All too true. Makes me sick to think what I’m shelling out for my new DC apartment.
In most Third World Countries the capital city is where you must do all of the business..because of the govt curruption that controls investment and profit. The increasing power located in DC is pushing the same enviroment in the US.
The bureacracy, the congress and the lobyists are essential to a lot of investment and results.
Not to be too nebby, but what area area did you choose to live in? In college I Foggy Bottom, post college I lived in Dupont Circle and I just returned after 10 years of wandering and settled on K street.
Now your typical illegal alien probably doesn't know these things, but he doesn't care either. So don't you go illegal on us now. Ya' hear?!
The article doesn't mention inside or outside, just "beltway bandits".
As Palmer observes, most of the Beltway Bandits are outside of the actual Beltway because most office space is being built outside of it. But the meaning of “Beltway” really is just “the area around Washington DC”. You don’t stop being a Beltway Bandit just because you have office space in Rockville or Leesburg. Business practices are the defining characteristic, not a few miles here or there.
Just south of Meridian Hill park. Nice area. Lots of resturaunts and bars nearby. Being young and single, these are my priorities :)
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
No, but people routinely commute from Loudon and Howard into DC. I believe this is the point of including them.
Those places are NOT anywhere near the beltway. Neither is Loudon County.
Once again, and I hate to break this to you, but I have friends who live in Loudon County in Leesburg, Middleburg and Purcellville who COMMUTE to Washington to work. The COMMUTING TO WASHINGTON TO WORK is the point, not the relative distance from the Beltway.
Same is true with Faquier County, Stafford, and some of the other outlying areas. The point is about COMMUTING TO WASHINGTON TO WORK FROM AREAS AROUND THE BELTWAY, NOT NECESSARILY INSIDE THE BELTWAY.
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