Shocking! Sequester Wasn't The End Of The World!
—DrewM.
Unpossible! If the government spends a tiny bit less we were told there'd be riots and DC/NoVa residents would have to resort to cannibalism. Apparently not.
In the months since the automatic federal spending cuts known as the sequester took effect, the Washington area has added 40,000 jobs. Income-tax receipts have surged in Virginia, beating expectations. Few government contractors have laid off workers....
“The surprise is that the economy is as good as it is,” said Stephen S. Fuller, the economist who directs the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “We’ve done better than I expected.”
In January, Fuller predicted that the sequester, if enacted, would be an “end-of-the-world kind of hit” to the regional economy. He wrote an analysis of the cuts in March concluding they would kill more than 325,000 jobs in Virginia, the District and Maryland combined.
That estimate included both direct and indirect effects — that is, layoffs not just among federal workers and contractors, but also the workers, such as waiters or car salespeople, whose jobs depend on spending from federal paychecks.
So what's the lesson to be learned? Cut MOAR!
I can't say I'm surprised that the economic impact on the DC area hasn't been greater but I am disappointed. I think it's very unhealthy for the capital to be protected from the economic realities of the country as a whole.
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