Automatic For The People: The latest failure of Congress to get anything done won't just result in deserved mockery of the Supercommittee's name—it could also kill the local economy. The automatic cuts in federal spending that would be triggered in 2013, thanks to the committee's inability to agree on other ways to reduce the budget [...]
According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, the new census data shows some serious, entrenched poverty in the District. The numbers are brutal—especially for those living in Ward 7 and Ward 8. More than one in four children in D.C. are living in poverty, the data shows. The poverty rate among children rose from roughly [...]
The District's unemployment rate had steady at 9.9 percent in August. Let's call it 10 percent! The Department of Employment Services tries to blame the end of the summer jobs program:
"The unemployment rate in the District of Columbia for August was unchanged from the revised July rate of 9.9% reported the District of Columbia’s Department [...]
Great news, Washingtonians: It's boom time here!
That, at least, is the argument Politico (er, sorry, POLITICO) has plastered all over its homepage this morning, breathlessly heralding the results of a survey 1,011 Americans and "227 Washington, D.C., Elites." The poll, taken by Mark Penn, finds the D.C. elites think the country is doing much better [...]
From DOES:
"The unemployment rate in the District of Columbia for May 2010 was 10.4 percent, a 0.6% decrease from the 11.0 percent rate for April 2010, according to data released today by the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES).
May marked the fifth straight month of a drop in the unemployment rate; at [...]
This week, The Modern Times Coffeehouse has become the first coffee shop in the District to throw down the gauntlet at Wi-Fi loafers: The management has covered up some of the electrical outlets in an attempt to herd its laptop loiterers toward communal tables, where they can still plug in.
This particular gambit was first seen [...]
If you are just tuning to this new WCP series on Internet cafes around the District, let me introduce myself: I am the Wi-Fi loafer on assignment, your faithful correspondent on wired café culture.
Since this is a confessional column I figure you might want to know how I became a Wi-Fi loafer, a café idler [...]
Even in these troubled economic times, some groups are thriving – take organized gangs of shoplifters, for instance.
According to the National Retail Federation’s fifth annual Organized Retail Crime survey, nine out of ten retailers say they’ve been robbed by organized gangs in the last year. And, nearly three-quarters of the stores and restaurants surveyed say [...]
(200 block of West Glebe Road, Alexandria, Dec. 1)
Tim and Nina Zagat, the couple behind the wildly successful Zagat guides, argued yesterday in the Wall Street Journal that the restaurant biz will survive the economic downtown (can we call it a recession yet?). Their argument was forcefully made, based on historical data, tax laws, and social trends. But they overlooked one important factor: [...]
The local food boards are starting to light up over a rumor that Bread & Chocolate (and maybe Ben & Jerry's) on Capitol Hill will be closing. I've tried call B&C several times, but the lines are busy, busy, busy! Calls to B&J are rolling straight into voicemail.
More as we know it.
In the meantime, let's [...]
During the Great Depression, the only two things people could seem to afford were bootleg liquor and Busby Berkley musicals, as both industries saw a rise in sales while the economy plummeted. But did the profits have anything to do with the depression?
The media have been making causal jumps between the economic downturn and the [...]
Yet another story detailing Bill Clinton's preference for talking up John McCain over campaigning for Barack Obama:
Former President Bill Clinton was hesitant to characterize Barack Obama as a "great man" Sunday, a phrase he had no qualms using last week to describe Obama's rival John McCain.
Clinton told NBC's Tom Brokaw that it was only earlier [...]
