ripple effects from government employment/contracting uncertainty in DMV economy?

[Anonymous]

Following on to a post from the jobs forum where people are discussing how they are contracting spending based on uncertainty around federal and contractor employment, what can we expect to see? If people have less spending (and less income overall due to unemployment), what types of repercussions can we expect to housing markets, restaurants, gym memberships, etc?

[Anonymous]

Brick and mortar stores, particular small businesses, will suffer the most. Commercial real estate has been taking a beating for the last five years and while RTO may help, we are likely seeing a contraction in spending not just regionally but nationally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brick and mortar stores, particular small businesses, will suffer the most. Commercial real estate has been taking a beating for the last five years and while RTO may help, we are likely seeing a contraction in spending not just regionally but nationally.

I'm personally going to pack my lunch and skip happy hours until my job is secure.

[Anonymous]

None.

All these executive orders will be challenged in court. Don't resign with that Fork in the Road drivel: the government is only funded until March. They can't follow through on their promise to pay you until September anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None.

All these executive orders will be challenged in court. Don't resign with that Fork in the Road drivel: the government is only funded until March. They can't follow through on their promise to pay you until September anyway.

The fork email also contained some threatening language suggesting a lot of future unemployment. That May all be legal or not but in the near term it creates intense uncertainty. I’m certainly cutting way back on discretionary spending, and won’t be doing some home improvement projects I had planned.

[Anonymous]

On the plus side (except for developers) no housing crisis..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None.

All these executive orders will be challenged in court. Don't resign with that Fork in the Road drivel: the government is only funded until March. They can't follow through on their promise to pay you until September anyway.

The fork email also contained some threatening language suggesting a lot of future unemployment. That May all be legal or not but in the near term it creates intense uncertainty. I’m certainly cutting way back on discretionary spending, and won’t be doing some home improvement projects I had planned.

+1 Our income increased a fair amount last year and I was considering how to spend my extra money. Like a cleaning service, nicer clothes, etc. Now I'm actually going to reduce my spending so I can shore up my emergency fund.

[Anonymous]

I'm a contractor and have shifted to necessary spending only until I get some confidence in my contract's stability or a new job. Very little dining out, no shopping, no events or babysitters.

[Anonymous]

We have put off our plan to sell our townhouse and buy a SFH. We can afford it no matter what happens, but we decided we'd rather have more flexibility for now. We may end up deciding to seek employment in another part of the country depending on how seriously our jobs are at risk or if we get an effective pay cut through things like salary freezes, higher retirement contributions, and a voucher system for federal health insurance.

[Anonymous]

I heard a lot of defense contracts are getting canned.

[Anonymous]

I think the suburbs will hurt for a few years. Neighbors and friends around me in MoCo have already been laid off or furloughed from gov contracting jobs. All the fast casual and similar restaurants that have opened around me will not be able to survive if all the feds go back to DC (one of the things I think is forgotten in the hand wringing about DC losing revenue from the telework is that the surrounding areas have boomed, and you can’t magically gain in one area without losing in the other). My hair salon place has canceled a plan to bring 2 new stylists on while they see how things go — I know my stylist had at least two cancelations this week due to Trump because they were personal friends. I assume there is more of this going on.
Bottom line: I expect my local economy to get worse, and I also expect Marylands budget problems to get worse as a result of all this. Tough years ahead in MoCo, I’d say.

[Anonymous]

We haven't felt ripple effects yet, so much uncertainty, we are in a private sector though not related to the gov functions in any way. I also don't see construction stopping either multifamily or single family. Work goes on as before

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard a lot of defense contracts are getting canned.

Lockheed Martin has been eating high off the hog since 9/11. Having worked there, I witnessed gobsmacking waste. It has to be the same at the other contractors too. So, for them to go through some downsizing is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard a lot of defense contracts are getting canned.

Lockheed Martin has been eating high off the hog since 9/11. Having worked there, I witnessed gobsmacking waste. It has to be the same at the other contractors too. So, for them to go through some downsizing is a good thing.

The thing is, I'm all for Lockheed Martin shrinking. And, certainly, there's some dead weight among federal government workers as well. I just don't trust Elon Musk to be surgical and strategic.

[Anonymous]

Make those folks get a teaching certificate and get them into schools to teach. teaching shortage and especially of people in STEAM subjects.