Hammer Time

This article from Sunday’s Washington Post caught my attention, and I wanted to share it with you. This is a guest link – you can read this article for free.

• This will be brief this morning — I’m off to teach an Osher class in a few minutes.

Here’s the quick TL/DR: The unemployment rate in the DC area has increased more than eight times as quickly as that of the country as a whole since the current Republican president took office. Every other economic indicator has also been flashing “Emergency,” even before the full effects of the DOGE and other cuts to the federal workforce hit. When the 2025 fiscal year ends Tuesday night, government workers who have been on paid leave for months will cease getting their paychecks and will be officially out of their jobs. This will only be exacerbated by a prolonged government shutdown, which seems increasingly likely.

A decline in tourism is the second part of the one-two punch faced by the DC area, as foreign tourists stay away, international students and scholars find other places to research and study, and domestic tourists are scared away by the administration’s portrayal of Washington as crime-ridden and violent.

This is a snapshot of the impact the current administration is having across the country. This damage is not easily repaired.