| Author | Message | ||
     Ferris_von_bueller |
I've noticed this trend over the years. WASHINGTON - The D.C. area makes plenty of Top 10 lists, and this one shows its residents make the big bucks. According to a new report from Newsweek, seven of the nation's 10 richest counties are in this region. Virginia's Loudoun County takes home the top spot, with its median household income exceeding $114,000 per year. Seventeen percent of Loudoun households make more than $200,000, while only 16 percent earn less than the national average household income of $50,000. The survey, based on 2009 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, names Loudoun neighbor Fairfax County the No. 2 breadwinner in the country. The county was the first in America to hit six figures with its median household income, and more than half its homes make more than that number now. "Fairfax County has traditionally been home away from home for many diplomats and officials who want to live in a rural community close to Washington, D.C.," Newsweek explains. Maryland makes its entry onto the list with Howard County at No. 3. Thirty percent of its employed population earns six figures. The rundown on the rest of this area's well-to-do counties goes like this: Arlington County at No. 5, Montgomery County and its median household income of $94,420 at No. 6 and Maryland's Calvert and Charles counties at Nos. 9 and 10. The other counties on the list sit close to New York City in either New Jersey or New York state. Speaking of states, this area takes home the "richest" title in that category, too: Maryland's median household income of $69,272 just edges out second-place state New Jersey. The full list is below: 1. Loudoun County, Va. 2. Fairfax County, Va. 3. Howard County, Md. 4. Morris County, N.J. 5. Arlington County, Va. 6. Montgomery County, Md. 7. Nassau County, N.Y. 8. Somerset County, N.J. 9. Calvert County, Md. 10. Charles County, Md. http://wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2115275 | ||
| Cityxslicker |
yes yes, but what is the cost of living? I mean 60k in this town that I am holed up in goes a long way; in DC you could blow through that in a weekend on a lobbyist junket. Obviously they need more of your money, send them all you make. they wont be satisfied until you do. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
I assume you're implying that all these folks are getting rich off the government? I grew up in that area and still have plenty of family up there. To some extent your right, there are a whole bunch of folks that make a good living off the gov't. However there is also a booming tech industry all around the DC area. My guess is that this http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2010/07/14/AR2010071405751.html has more to do with the income level of the area than the large gov't employment base. (Message edited by sayitaintso on November 12, 2010) | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Say, After reading the article, most of the people do indeed work for the government in one form or another. The District is surrounded by the five best-educated counties in the country, as measured in bachelor's degrees, a necklace of demographic pearls: Arlington, home to the Pentagon; Alexandria, the upscale Colonial city, classified by the census as its own county; Fairfax County, headquarters of Sallie Mae and the CIA; Howard County, with its massive Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and Montgomery County, home to the National Institutes of Health. There are Washington suburbs where seemingly every neighbor is a doctor or lawyer, scientist or spy. The biggest "tech" field mentioned by the article is the physics lab. A school, with government scientist. I am not saying the area doesn't have a big tech business, or business other than government. But the article does very little to talk about the tech jobs. There are also thousands who make a living off the government, thought not a gov. employee. Lobbyist come to mind. I do like this quote!! "To put it crudely, Washington, D.C., is parasitic on the rest of the country," said Dowell Myers, a professor of urban planning and demography at the University of Southern California. "Most of those people were educated somewhere else." And speaking of industry the article has this to say: Washington's economy is distinctive not just for what it includes -- government -- but for what it lacks, "like a big industrial base or a shipyard," Berube said. While rival cities such as Seattle and Boston have vast numbers of well-educated adults, they also have an industrial heritage and a "concentration of jobs, that are good jobs, that don't require a bachelor's degree," Berube said. Washington has no industrial anchor. It is the archetypal professional town, with few jobs in factories or warehouses. This is telling: Consider Matt Drury. The Syracuse, N.Y., native completed a master's in civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh last spring. He would have been a welcome addition to the labor market in Pittsburgh, where 28.7 percent of adults hold bachelor's degrees. But he moved to the Washington area to join an environmental consulting firm that contracts with the federal government. He lives in Tysons Corner and works in Chantilly. "It came down to choosing whether to stay in Pittsburgh or go to D.C.," said Drury, 24. "And basically, the job opportunity was better in D.C." Sound like a GOVERNMENT job to me. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Whisper, you hit it on the head | ||
| Midnightrider |
Moved to Montgomery County MD from Syracuse 5 years ago. Didn't work for the government then but I do now. Moved here for better pay, better weather and access to see such amazing things on an almost weekly basis. Past things we've seen, off the top of my head - the inaugural parade, the inauguration/concert festivities on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial from 100 yards near the reflecting pool, watched Fourth of July fireworks over the Washington Monument while sitting on the curb on Constitution avenue with the White House behind me, Rolling Thunder every Memorial Day, attended several concerts from the Capitol steps and a couple weeks ago attended the Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear on the national mall. Also attended the Chinatown festivities for Chinese New Year. I've see Air Force One take off over my head countless times. Laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery, too many funerals at Arlington as a Patriot Guard Rider ( including the first one that reportedly was the first to ever allow motorcycles into Arlington)a dozen or so activities on the national mall put on by the Smithsonian, Cherry Blossom festivals..... Read this thread a few times and maybe I'm the exception for the "well-educated" part of the area but I'm still wondering - what's your point? | ||
| 86129squids |
DILLIGAF.  | ||
| Blake |
Looters and moochers suck. A gov job is easy street with bountiful benefits and retirement rarely matched in private sector. I'm sick of paying for it. Except for our military. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Squids, I am curious. If you really don't give a f--k, why bother to even take the time to post a DILLIGAF? Why do people "who do not care" post to a thread?   | ||
| Nik |
There are more contractors here making bank than government staff. There's more contractors here with security clearances than government staff too. That's where the money really is. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Looters and moochers suck. A gov job is easy street with bountiful benefits and retirement rarely matched in private sector. I'm sick of paying for it. +1...that's my point There are more contractors here making bank than government staff. There's more contractors here with security clearances than government staff too. That's where the money really is. Good point but those contractors are still sucking off the tit of the federal gov. | ||
| Froggy |
Being that I was previously and currently employed by the gov, I can assure you its not all green pastures. Just like there are good cops and bad cops, there are the lazy/overpaid workers and then the other 90%+ of us are just normal people with normal benefits and pay. I know I can make more in the private sector, but I am happy where I am, the people I work with are great, and I would love to work with them till I'm eligible to retire in 41 years from now. | ||
| Buellkowski |
I thought you types supported privatization of gov't work. Now said private contractors are moochers & looters? I dare say the gov't is saving taxpayer money by contracting out rather than hiring their own staff. | ||
| 86129squids |
Whisper- Basically I'm with Midnite on this, just don't see how this is relevant to much of anything. Not to ruin anyone's party or nothin, carry on... BTW, the weather here is GREAT, gonna rake some leaves or just go for a ride. (That's an anti-DILLIGAF for the record...) | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Have fun on your ride! Might do the same. | ||
| Nik |
I dare say the gov't is saving taxpayer money by contracting out rather than hiring their own staff. That's an inaccurate statement. | ||
| Midnightrider |
Good point about the value of a security clearance; no doubt one reason there are so many former military hired on as contractors. I can't remember the cost of establishing a clearance for someone who has never had one versus revalidating or updating one for a retired GI who had a clearance but it's huge. A contractor's job is no bed of roses - most I know put in way more than the 40 hours a week they get paid for. There's also no guarantee that their jobs will be renewed year to year. Certainly a lot are, but I've seen some go out the door when their contracts are not renewed. If you think they are under worked and over paid - why not go out and get one? | ||
| T9r |
Makes total sense. Besides the government entities, health care, lawyers and then private contractors. Most households have two working individuals. The cost of living in those counties is well above the US norm. | ||
| Crackhead |
69,272 / 2 people = 34,636 per person Shit, if i was only making that, there is no way i could make my house payment. And my house needed major work when i bought it and was priced accordingly. I wounder where Prince Georges county is on the list, bc that is where all the "nice" people that couldn't afford to move away live. | ||
| Sayitaintso |
Unless PG county has changed since I lived up there, there is no way I would live there let alone raise a family in that county. The money in those counties isn't in the hands of the gov't employees, its the contractors. They are highly educated and like was said before, they work their tails off. The question we should be asking (or the topic discussed) is should the government be buying the things that all those folks are working on. Not if the people working on those projects are "worth it" or are they getting paid too much. My brother is in that "rats race" and does "engineering work" at Ft Mead. A 70 hr week is about average for him. He cant say what he does (so I dont ask), but I do know he's brilliant and works harder than most anyone else I know, and gets paid accordingly. | ||
| Babired |
I'm with Midnightrider. Rolling Thunder and all of the things why DC is cool. I was a DC brat back in the 60's and went to the Smithsonian every Sunday with my parents and boated on the Potomac every summer. JHUAPL is a Non-Profit R&D lab with a engineering school for masters degrees. The new dollar bill design came from there, the Diabetes internal implant came from there, and world famous Satellites came from there like the NEAR. I saw the NEAR get built I've been working there for 25 years now best job in the world. Riding in Maryland head west to the mountains, head east to the ocean, go north or south to another beautiful state. down side is lots of congestion, corruption, and in Baltimore we are the UGLIEST people now  The money is here the cost of living is high, and the hi taxes suck |
