Hampton Roads has long relied on military and federal government spending to buoy its economy. Virginia Beach is Virginia's most populous city and has long been the most affluent city in Hampton Roads thanks in large part due to federal dollars. That reliance on federal employment with the federal government shutdown is now a liability. Indeed, 17.2% of the regional employment is derived from federal spending as shown in the figures below from the Washington Post of the top ten most vulnerable metropolitan areas (note: Northern Virginia ranks 4th in threatened areas). It is, therefore, little surprise that both Scott Rigell and Randy Forbes, right wing Republican members of Congress have blasted their own party and said that it is time to pass a spending bill that does not defund the Affordable Health Care Act.
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1. Colorado Springs 18.8%
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2. Virginia Beach-N.C. 17.2%
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3. Honolulu 17.2%
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4. D.C. region 14.3%
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5. El Paso13.6%
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6. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah 11.5%
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7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 10.9%
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8. Augusta, Ga.-S.C. 9.1%
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9. San Antonio 7.8%
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10. Charleston S.C. 7.6%
The Washington area ranks fourth nationwide in percent of all workers on the federal and military payroll, far ahead of the other 10 largest metro areas. Of the 3.1 million people employed in the D.C. area, nearly 450,000 work for the federal government or military (excluding federal contractors).
And it's not just direct federal employees who will feel the financial pinch. The ripple effect will be significant. Yet Ken Cuccinelli, E.W. Jackson and Mark Obenshain have as yet done nothing to condemn the extremism of their fellow Tea Party lunatics in the House GOP. I hope voters are paying attention and will let these extremists know what they think by voting Democrat on November 5th.
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