Wash DC area richest in nation, largest concentration of lawyers in America.

[powderman]

 Washington, D.C. area now the richest in the nation    By Chris Moody
Political Reporter     Analysts at Bloomberg News examined new Census data and found that the area surrounding the nation's capital is now the richest in the nation:
 

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation's greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out

San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.
The U.S. capital has swapped top spots with Silicon Valley, according to recent Census Bureau figures, with the typical household in the Washington metro area earning $84,523 last year. The national median income for 2010 was $50,046.
...
Total compensation for federal workers, including health care and other benefits, last year averaged $126,369, compared with $122,697 in 2009, according to Bloomberg News calculations of Commerce Department data. There were 170,467 federal employees in the District of Columbia as of June. A survey in March of federal government job openings in the area found hundreds of well-paying gigs on offer. Highlights from those listing include an offer for up to $115,000 a year to update the Facebook page and manage new media projects for the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs and a deputy speechwriter gig for Office Of Personnel Management Director John Berry that paid up to $81,204 annually.
Of course, federal pay isn't the only factor contributing to Washington's new status. The proliferation of high-priced lobbyists, contractors and consultants, combined with one of the most stable (and pricey) real estate markets in the country, means that the D.C. region is one expensive place.
     
WOW, big shock there. POWDERMAN. 

[mdwest]

no doubt that there are A LOT of people making big money in the DC area..
 
but I dont know that it is truely any "wealthier" that many other places I have visited..
 
the cost of living in DC, northern virginia, and the parts of maryland that border DC are outrageous...
 
best example I can give is housing...
 
when I was living in west tennessee (memphis metro area) I bought a house in the late 1990's.. the house was in a decent suburban area.. about 2000 square feet.. on a quarter acre lot.. I paid about $150K for the house..
 
when I moved to the DC metro area in 2005.. we looked at a similar house.. slightly larger (about 2300 sq feet) in a similar neighborhood, etc.. asking price.. $685K...
 
when I moved to east tennessee in 2007.. I started looking for a similar sized house in a similar neighborhood.. I am now in a 2300 sq foot, 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in a nice suburb of a mid sized city.. appraised value of the house.. $215K..
 
my wages were approximately 40% higher when I was in the DC area..
 
but the cost of living increase was SUBSTANTIALLY higher than that...
 
most cost of living calculators show a cost of living differential between a major metro city like Memphis, TN to the Washington DC metro area of 58%+.
 
the truth is while there are a ton of "McMansions" all over the northern virginia area.. owned by alot of fat cat K street lawyers and consultants.. there are also quite a few people that while they make "better" wages than someone in Pittsburgh or Tampa (a plummer in DC will make more than a plummer in Tampa for example).. but actually have a much lower standard of living than someone in a similar position in other cities..
 
I know alot of guys in DC, making over $100K a year.. that are "living".. but they are hardly "living large".. a guy trying to support a typical american family of 4 in the DC area on $100K a year will likely struggle as much (or more) than a guy making $45-$50K in alot of other places..
 
the speach writer making $81K that is mentioned in the article.. unless he is a 25 year old, recent college graduate.. isnt exactly "making bank" in DC (he would probably feel like he was "getting rich" if he lived in Birmingham, Alabama).. the guy making $115K that is mentioned... is most likely just barely living a middle class existence (most likely in a small townhouse out in the suburbs.. driving a compact car.. etc..).. he definately isnt putting alot of money into his savings account each month...
 
 

[BUGEYE]

mdwest, all you say may be true, but, those in DC are taking what they make out of MY pocket.

[mdwest]

some are..
 
and some of them are getting a big chunk of it...
 
but many (most) are not..
 
DC metro is a big city..
 
while there are alot of government employees.. and even more people that make their money by supporting the government..
 
most people in the area have "normal" jobs just like people in any other major metro area..
 
the electricians, plummers, Kmart employees, gas station employees, general managers of the grocery stores, divorce attorneys, cops, firefighters, barbers, doctors, accountants, etc.. (the vast majority of the people in the area).. get their money from the same place as people that live in other areas (from the consumer or the local municipality)..
 
there is a reason that the fed govt pays a locality differential to people that get transferred to DC..
 
if you take a guy that works for the fed govt in Demoines, Iowa (who gets his money out of "your pocket"), and transfer him to DC.. even after giving him a promotion.. he is likely going to be taking a pay cut.. unless you give him a locality pay increase..
 
the cost of living is that bad there..
 

[BUGEYE]

I believe Powderman was refering to those on the public dole.  90% of whom are unnecessary.

[mdwest]

I wouldnt go as far as 90%.. but I do agree that the federal government has gotten way to fat and numerous positions that have been created within the federal government in the past 10 years are not necessary..
 
that is a whole different argument however..
 
while there are more fed govt employees in DC than other places.. I can promise you that numerous federal govt positions in Dallas, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Denver are not necessary either..
 
if whether or not federal government employees were the issue.. the article would have been titled "DC is rich due to all the extra federal employees hanging around"...
 
it is instead titled "Washington DC Area Now The Richest In The Nation"...
 
Rich is a relative term..
 
I can assure you.. that people in DC making $100K a year (whether they work for Wal-Mart or the State Department) are considerably "less rich" than someone making $70K in most other cities..
 
while their paychecks may be larger..
 
their houses are smaller.. their cars are older.. and their discretionary income is less...
 
getting rid of 100,000 federal employees making $100K a year will have little impact on the "rich" that live in DC (the people making the really big salaries)...
 
K Street attornies and lobbyists were making multi-million dollar salaries long before the government began to surge in size 10 years ago.. and will continue to make multi-million dollar salaries long after we abolish the Department of Education, reduce the size of the IRS, reduce the size of the EPA, etc..
 
those on the public dole arent getting rich (although.. again, I agree.. many are unnecssary).. the guy writing speaches for $80K a year that is mentioned in the article.. is sitting on the low end of middle class in DC..
 
those on the private dole.. like the attornies at Pilsbury Winthrop.. are the ones that make the real money, own vacation homes in the hamptons, spend their vacations in tuscany, etc..
 
and those people existed long before the government got fat.. and will continue to exist long after it gets lean again..
 
the point is the article is skewed.. rich is relative...
 
ever wonder why a cop working for NYPD with 5 years on the job makes about $90K a year (most make over $110K when you factor in overtime).. and a cop working in Birmingham, Alabama with the same amount of time on the job makes $52K?
 
because it costs twice as much to live in Queens as it does to live in Alabama..
 
 

[BUGEYE]

having spent many years in the private sector and a few years around the public sector, I can tell you that one (1) good private secretary can replace ten (10) public secretaries.  and it goes right up the line all the way to the presidents cabinet.
yes, 90% are unnecessary.

[mdwest]

having spent numerous years working in both sectors myself.. I can tell you that your 1:10 ratio is a gross exaggeration.. that while I have also found that people in the private sector (whether secretaries or senior managers) are generally far more motivated and do a better job than people in the public sector (there are exceptions..but not many that I have found).. that the belief that you can replace 10 people with 1 is unreaslistic.. and would violate business best practices employed (and found successful) in the public sector..
 
considering that the 5 largest federal government agencies are:
 
The Department of Defense
The Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Justice
The Department of Tresury
 
and that these five agencies employ over HALF of all the 2.7M federal workers in the US.. I think your 1:10 number is even more flawed.. (do you want to get rid of 10 privates in the USMC and replace them with one person? or how about 10 Border Patrol Agents and replace them with one person?)
 
with the exception of the VA and Tresury.. these are operationally based agencies... light on administration (although still fat and could use cuts)..
 
getting rid of every secretary in the department of education, department of agriculture, bureau of indian affairs, and the department transportation would have about the same impact as popping a pimple on an elephants butt (none)..
 
not saying we shouldnt do it (I agree.. the government is fat.. and A LOT of positions need to be eliminated..)..
 
but I am saying your numbers are wrong.. and that you are now completely off the topic of the original post..
 
how many government employees there are in DC has nothing to do with whether or not people (government employees or not) are "rich"..
 
"rich" is still a relative term...
 
 

[BUGEYE]

mdwest, all you say may be true, but, those in DC are taking what they make out of MY pocket.

Gee, I make one simple comment and a war started.

[mdwest]

No war.. Im just argumentative by nature (maybe I should have gone to law school and tried to be one of those K street attorneys...) 
 
 

[BUGEYE]

No war.. Im just argumentative by nature (maybe I should have gone to law school and tried to be one of those K street attorneys...) 

and I'm bullheaded.