Virginia Could Lose 207,571 Federal Jobs Under GOP Forced Budget Cuts

To listen to Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans who seem hell bent on destroying the middle class via their calls for drastic cuts in the federal government budget, the number one reason the U. S. economy is lagging is because of too much government spending.  The truth, of course, is the direct opposite yet cretins in Virginia, including Hampton Roads, continue to support Republicans like Eric Cantor and Scott Rigell - and Bob McDonnell and Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli all of whom support massive budget cuts  A piece in the Richmond Times-Dispatch looks at the doomsday scenario that could over take Virginia if GOP forced spending cuts in fact kick in.  It ought to be a wake up call for everyone who can think beyond the religious pander and anti-immigrant/minority mantra of the GOP.  Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads could be hit very hard.  Here are article highlights:

Virginia could lose 207,571 jobs and nearly $10.7 billion in labor income from federal spending cuts starting next year if Congress fails to resolve the looming budget crisis, according to an analysis released Tuesday.

Virginia ranks second only to California in estimated job losses from the automatic budget reductions, which are scheduled to kick in Jan. 2 unless Congress acts.

Texas would take the third-biggest loss, according to the analysis conducted for the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group for manufacturers that could lose billions of dollars in federal contracts.

The researchers said the automatic spending cuts will cost the economy more than 2 million jobs, from defense contracting to border security to education. The cuts also would reduce the nation's gross domestic product by $215 billion next year while consumer confidence would plummet.

"If they are allowed to occur as currently scheduled, the long-term consequences will permanently alter the course of the U.S. economy's performance, changing its competitive position in the global economy," the report said.

In Virginia, the spending cuts likely would hit Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads the hardest because of the concentration of defense-related and federal contracting jobs in those areas. Still, the entire state would suffer losses, Fuller said.

The impact on Virginia also could be larger than the direct job losses in the state, Fuller said. The District of Columbia and Maryland also would lose tens of thousands of jobs. They rank fourth and fifth overall in the number of jobs that would disappear.

"A lot of those jobs are held by Virginians," Fuller said.  The report says Virginia's losses would total 136,191 jobs resulting from Department of Defense cuts and 71,380 jobs from non-Defense Department cuts.

For those with short memories, Blue Virginia summarizes how the nation and Virginia in particular got to this scary precipice: 

[W]e'll have Republican'ts to thank if that happens. Remember, they scuttled a "grand bargain" between President Obama and Speaker Boehner on the deficit and raising the debt ceiling, resulting in the automatic spending cuts deal. Now, they're trying to blame Democrats for THAT too. These people are utterly shameless.