WaPo Data show D.C. area is feeling toll of federal spending cuts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I hope people understand this is just a taste. If you don't think so, look at the difference between revenues and expenditures. This isn't going to last. Get out now if you can.


You might want to ask Trump why he is decreasing taxes given what a bad idea it is.


The majority of Congress (i.e. the Republicans) all voted for the "Big Beautiful Bill" and its 3 trillion dollar increase in national debt. Which is why I'm diversifying my assets to have more non-US holdings. The time is coming for when the American house of cards will fall. Big fiscal deficits+ volatile leaders who don't respect institutions, laws or economic principles is a recipe for disaster.

And how do you think your non-US holdings are going to fare when the US fails?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I hope people understand this is just a taste. If you don't think so, look at the difference between revenues and expenditures. This isn't going to last. Get out now if you can.


You might want to ask Trump why he is decreasing taxes given what a bad idea it is.


The majority of Congress (i.e. the Republicans) all voted for the "Big Beautiful Bill" and its 3 trillion dollar increase in national debt. Which is why I'm diversifying my assets to have more non-US holdings. The time is coming for when the American house of cards will fall. Big fiscal deficits+ volatile leaders who don't respect institutions, laws or economic principles is a recipe for disaster.

And how do you think your non-US holdings are going to fare when the US fails?

Better than the US holdings. If you want to put all your eggs in Trump’s basket, go ahead, but don’t be surprised if they all end up rotten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The start of the DMV's Great Depression...

Wait, I thought the Great Depression 2.0 was in April, when the stock market was “collapsing?”

Lol, so this is what the second Trump presidency is going to be like: every 3 to 4 months, some butthurt libs are going to predict the start of a new Great Depression, slink away when the data proves them wrong, and wait for the next idiots to emerge.

[Anonymous]

Well, all of the GDP growth this year is tied to AI spending…which yeah, it could work out but it’s not proven yet and totally surpassed consumer spending. All of the new jobs are in healthcare and maintenance for old people nationally but the companies themselves are not doing well and neither are non AI companies. Gen Z is speculating on crypto and meme stocks because they can’t afford homes. Tech companies tank services to extract value from customers due to their monopolistic position. That’s while we gut basic science research and R&D across government, gut universities and China focuses on boring long term investments as the world’s source of manufacturing, including clean energy. Oh and we’re pissing off every single trading and military partner with mafia like tariff requirements all the while assuming the dollar will continue to be the world’s reserve currency. The world will ultimately move on without us because most countries want free trade. And get this, in the last 500 years, no financial power has ever beaten an industrial power in a conflict — so think of that every time China builds another bullet train, factory, and city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life in 2025 is very normal in my McLean neighborhood, very similar to last year.

You must not get out much.

NP here. Also in McLean. Life also seems similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life in 2025 is very normal in my McLean neighborhood, very similar to last year.

You must not get out much.

NP here. Also in McLean. Life also seems similar.

Well next door in Arlington unemployment is up 55%

https://www.arlnow.com/2025/08/06/arlington-unemployment-rate-increases-again-up-55-year-over-year/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be bad everywhere real soon, for a change DC is just the bellwether

Nah, DC is just a tiny bubble. Probably good it is exploding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life in 2025 is very normal in my McLean neighborhood, very similar to last year.

Things seem normal on the surface in my N Arlington neighborhood. But I know several people who have been RIF’d, took DRP, or lost contracts.

I don’t think we’re feeling it yet because a) people are still getting DRP payments or severance (some even just retired early and won’t look for another job) and b) a lot of people have savings / homes with low interest rates, so they will cut discretionary spending and stay in their house as long as they can. Also many have spouses who earn enough they can coast on one salary for a while, they just may need to postpone reno projects or pull kids out of expensive camps.

I do think those who can weather this will bounce back in the long term.

I’m more worried about the handful of people I know who are dual feds and really can’t afford to lose 2 jobs. Or the people around the DC area who were stretched to begin with.

Yet again the wealthy will be fine and the working families reliant on their paychecks to string housing and childcare together will take the brunt. This administration is such a scam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life in 2025 is very normal in my McLean neighborhood, very similar to last year.

You must not get out much.

NP here. Also in McLean. Life also seems similar.

Well next door in Arlington unemployment is up 55%

https://www.arlnow.com/2025/08/06/arlington-unemployment-rate-increases-again-up-55-year-over-year/

That’s okay because they’ll be able to find some factory jobs any day now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s going to be bad everywhere real soon, for a change DC is just the bellwether

Well, no...it's been bad in a number of areas for quite a while. Check out Dodge City, Rapid City, Detroit...Drive throughout our nation and you will see many once thriving communities and cities.

[Anonymous]

People can learn coding, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People can learn coding, right?

Uh no. CompSci majors can't get hired. AI is eliminating the need for entry level coders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Life in 2025 is very normal in my McLean neighborhood, very similar to last year.

Things seem normal on the surface in my N Arlington neighborhood. But I know several people who have been RIF’d, took DRP, or lost contracts.

I don’t think we’re feeling it yet because a) people are still getting DRP payments or severance (some even just retired early and won’t look for another job) and b) a lot of people have savings / homes with low interest rates, so they will cut discretionary spending and stay in their house as long as they can. Also many have spouses who earn enough they can coast on one salary for a while, they just may need to postpone reno projects or pull kids out of expensive camps.

I do think those who can weather this will bounce back in the long term.

I’m more worried about the handful of people I know who are dual feds and really can’t afford to lose 2 jobs. Or the people around the DC area who were stretched to begin with.

Yet again the wealthy will be fine and the working families reliant on their paychecks to string housing and childcare together will take the brunt. This administration is such a scam.

That's the key. Lot of wealthy people in McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The start of the DMV's Great Depression...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/d-c-area-is-feeling-toll-of-federal-spending-cuts-these-charts-show-how/ar-AA1JRObu?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6890d25a18734144a31306a1b30b723e&ei=18

The Washington region’s economy is starting to wobble, with the disproportionate impacts of federal budget cuts compared to the rest of the country becoming harder to ignore.

From surging unemployment claims to shrinking contractor work to a pullback in local consumer spending, signs of strain are emerging across key sectors that once helped prop up the region. Amid concerns about slowing national economic growth, the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal workforce, including the elimination of thousands of federal jobs, is being acutely felt in a national capital region that was already struggling to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

1. Unemployment claims on the rise
In May, D.C.’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent — the highest in more than three years.

The number of federal workers turning to unemployment insurance is climbing steadily, with claims rising 64 percent between February and June — from 1,064 to 1,747. That surge is starting to show up in the city’s bottom line: In June alone, D.C. paid out more than $2.5 million in federal civilian jobless benefits, a sharp jump from earlier in the spring.

Maryland saw a similar spike, with payments nearly doubling since April. In Virginia’s Fairfax County, unemployment has reached levels not seen since mid-2021.

And there’s still another shoe to drop.

The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people nationwide not to work as part of the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program. Terminated federal workers have also described lengthy delays in accessing paperwork necessary to file for unemployment. Calls and emails to former bosses and human resources officials have gone unanswered, some say. The bureaucratic morass, ongoing legal battles, and deferred resignation plan — which incentivized federal workers to quit but still be paid through Sept. 30 — means unemployment data is probably not yet capturing the scale of the workforce cuts.

The WaPo! That's a good one!

[Anonymous]

At my government contractor (think Leidos/SAIC tier), we've been onboarding 5+ IT hires every single week for the past three months straight.