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I have no regrets and offer no apologies for D.C. being relatively recession-proof compared to a lot of other cities in America. That's one of the big reasons (among others of course) I decided to stay in this area. It's called playing your cards right.
If D.C. wasn't like this, then I would have moved away from here a long time ago, because it would have become a red-headed step child city like Baltimore. Sorry, not interested.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 10-20-2011 at 07:19 AM..
It seems the DC economy is propped up based on something totally artificial. It's not much different that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and those nations. Just like when the oil runs out, when the ability to borrow money runs out, the government contracts and pencil-pushing stops.
What IS the issue is the TRILLIONS in tax money (and money stolen from future generations) being sucked up by ONE metropolitan area
Why don't you go ahead and break down the trillions that are being spent in this metropolitan area? This should be easy since it is publicly disclosed information.
Since you have such a strong opinion about it, I'm sure you are intimately familiar with the real numbers, and haven't just gleaned vagaries from blogs and opinion-journalism...
I can only post on a thread like this a few times because (1) the predictable, humorless defenses of the DC area/economy always seem to bear out the assertion that it's a region full of uptight Type As far better than any post from Coldbliss or CLB10 could ever do; and (2) the predictable, though occasionally funny, attacks on the DC area/economy always seem to be one small step away from abject self-loathing.
No one has really topped Walter Kelly ("we have met the enemy and it is us") so far. Be glad (if) you have a good job; enjoy your pho and panini while you can; and find some way to give back if you think you or others in DC are extracting too many dollars from other parts of the country. There are plenty of places that will accept your contributions, whether monetary or in-kind.
Why don't you go ahead and break down the trillions that are being spent in this metropolitan area? This should be easy since it is publicly disclosed information.
Since you have such a strong opinion about it, I'm sure you are intimately familiar with the real numbers, and haven't just gleaned vagaries from blogs and opinion-journalism...
So you think since the days of FDR the number isn't in the trillions?
You think the federal budget is just in the millions?
The only people who decide which union group or special interest group or Defense CEO or which political party gets the TRILLIONS in taxpayer money that taxpayers work so hard to try to keep for their children live and work in the D.C. area..the seat of government.
So you think since the days of FDR the number isn't in the trillions?
Well now, I thought you might fall short of providing actual budget numbers to support your position, but not only have you not provided any primary source information, but you've expanded the scope 66 years in an effort to make a point without context. Any state that has recieved more than $15B adjusted for inflation over the last 66 years has recived a trillion. If I responded, "You only have to go back 6 years to get in the trillions of federal spending in California, so they are 11 times the sinkhole our three states are", would that make any more sense? No, because it's a stupid statement without any context.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clb10
You think the federal budget is just in the millions?
I know precisely what the budget is. I work with primary information and real numbers instead of blogs and outrage.
So if I were to try to make the point that DC/MD/VA were uncontrollable sinkholes of federal money, I would make that point by providing the actual amounts of federal funding that have been spent in those states, the nature of the expenditure, and the national percentage they represent.
I'll even give you a freebie:
Federal Grants:
DC: 4.2 B (.79%)
MD: 9.6 B (1.81%)
VA: 8.5 B (1.61%)
This is in FY'11 dollars, I don't think we really need FDR for this. More numbers, less emoticons.
Well now, I thought you might fall short of providing actual budget numbers to support your position, but not only have you not provided any primary source information, but you've expanded the scope 66 years in an effort to make a point without context. Any state that has recieved more than $15B adjusted for inflation over the last 66 years has recived a trillion. If I responded, "You only have to go back 6 years to get in the trillions of federal spending in California, so they are 11 times the sinkhole our three states are", would that make any more sense? No, because it's a stupid statement without any context.
I know precisely what the budget is. I work with primary information and real numbers instead of blogs and outrage.
So if I were to try to make the point that DC/MD/VA were uncontrollable sinkholes of federal money, I would make that point by providing the actual amounts of federal funding that have been spent in those states, the nature of the expenditure, and the national percentage they represent.
I'll even give you a freebie:
Federal Grants:
DC: 4.2 B (.79%)
MD: 9.6 B (1.81%)
VA: 8.5 B (1.61%)
This is in FY'11 dollars, I don't think we really need FDR for this. More numbers, less emoticons.
Then what do you attribute the low approval ratings?
Perhaps America hasn't seen your "numbers"? lol. <------Emoticon
The report shows that the National Capital Region edged out Silicon Valley to become the most affluent U.S. metropolitan areas. The typical Washington metro household earned $84,523 in 2010, compared to a national median income of $50,046. Income in the D.C. area registered a 0.8 percent drop, but that didn’t faze government bureaucrats, who kept getting automatic raises.Moderator cut: shortened, copyright protection
By the way, you misspelled "received" twice. <----Another emoticon.
I ain't talkin' bout St. Louis or Miami here am I?
That's the thing - you are talking about those and many other places. Federal spending is spread throughout the country and world with military bases that support entire economies and farm subsidies that support entire rural communities that would otherwise collapse in a free market. San Diego, that bastion of sophisticated urban conservatism, would be much diminished without military spending. Many cities - including St Louis and Miami - depend on vast federal spending to maintain and build their infrastructure.
So, yes, your discussion belongs in the politics forum, not the DC forum. Your rage is rooted in raw emotion and misdirected due to its lack of facts, as the people who make such decisions are voted upon by the rest of the country and sent here. So blame wherever it is you live for the bloated federal spending. We, here, are taxed but not even represented in Congress to fight for our interests - a blatant violation of law that is upheld mostly by corrupt leaders sent here from far away places who think it's their right to control us.
Then what do you attribute the low approval ratings?
I attribute them to people suffering in a poor economy and searching for an easy place to lay blame, instead of taking time to understand and be engaged the relatively complex issues that we face.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clb10
Perhaps America has seen your "numbers"? lol. <------Emoticon
No, the problem is America is too lazy to look at the numbers. They have a plethora of media outlets of varying accountability spoon feeding them simple, easy, answers that satisfy their ambiguous sense of being screwed by someone, and that's where most American's engagement with public policy ends. A belief that has little or nothing to do with reality can become the truth for America almost over night. Can you tell which is which? Do you care? Maybe it's enough to just be outraged.
See this thread is the result of a stupid idea that gets leaked out of the Politics and Other Controversy forum.
All the people in here b*tching don't realize that most of the people that work in this area are normal people that work everyday like they do. People didn't come here and say "ooooh I wanna suckle from the teet of Tax income". They came here to work and earn money just like anybody else that goes to work across the country. And the fact that some of you are advocating the loss of millions of jobs so that you can feel better about your failed existence is pretty sad and pathetic.
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<----Another emoticon.
