George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis estimates that the federal government spent $13.4 billion less in the Washington area in 2013 than in 2010. That decrease, economists say, contributed to the following: Virginia is struggling to fill a projected $2.4 billion revenue gap in its state budget over the next three years, even though the national economy is improving; Maryland faces a $600 million budget deficit next fiscal year and nearly $300 million for the current fiscal year; the District last week announced a possible revenue shortfall of $163 million for fiscal 2016.
Other local governments are forecasting similarly gloomy scenarios.
“We’ve got to stop relying on being a government town,” said Bob Buchanan, a member of the 2030 Group, a set of area business leaders who have been contacting elected officials to argue for measures that would diversify the regional economy. “I think most of us are coming to realize that there is a transformation going on in our economy. The quicker we step back and act on that, the better off we’re going to be.”
