Washington Profit Center

FOX reports on how Washington’s chief industry (government) has fueled the growth of wealth in the city and surrounding counties.

The Washington Post reports that the number of registered lobbyists in Washington doubled between 2000 and 2005, to nearly 35,000. Not coincidentally, federal outlays increased over that period from $1.79 to $2.29 trillion. The government put more money on the table, so firms were willing to pay more lobbyists higher salaries to go snatch a piece of it.

“People in industry are willing to invest money because they see opportunities here,” one lobbyist told the Post. “They see that they can win things, that there’s something to be gained. Washington has become a profit center.”

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