'Recession-Proof' Area Sustains a Double Blow: Defense Buildup Should ...
The belief that the Washington area is recession proof has been dealt a doable blow in^the past year.</br></br>The same high interest rates that have meant recession nationwide are hurting the Washington economy, though not as badly as other, more industrial areas.</br></br>But President ReaganÛªs aim of shrinking the federal government also strikes at the very heart of WashingtonÛªs economic strength: government employment. It is the existence of the federal government with thousands of relatively well paid andÛÓeven more importantÛÓsecure jobs that has sheltered Washington from the worst of recessions in the past.</br></br>Burgeoning government has also .meant lucrative contracts for private consultants. State and local government employment, wÛªhich grew rapidly nationwide during the 1970s, soared by 43 percent in this area between 1970 and 1980, providing more than</br></br>Reaganomics means that in todayÛªs national recessionÛÓwhich is by some measures the deepest since the Great DepressionÛÓ