Room For Debate: Double Dip? Not in Washington D.C.

Introduction

Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency Washington and suburbs like Arlington, Va., are going strong.

“The economic recovery is faltering, and Washington is running out of ways to get it back on track,” The Washington Post said in its lead story on Thursday.

But you might not know this if you’re a well-educated resident of Washington D.C. — the metropolitan area, that is — where the economy is thriving, not faltering. It is the only metro area in the United States where housing prices have risen in the last quarter, according to Standard Poor’s Case-Shiller index. Some employers are even reportedly paying closing costs to lure talented employees to the area. The unemployment rate, at 5.4 percent, is well below 9.1 national average reported today.

What is driving this growing housing and job market disparity between Washington and the rest of the country? If the federal government is facing cuts, why are people still flocking to Washington and committing to buying homes? What other forces are at work inside this economic beltway?

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Topics: Economy, housing

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Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2b314f4c4520e060492eeb9a6e790f9a