Prior to Trump II, study after study recommended that Montgomery County dilute its reliance on the federal government as a primary employer. For example, in the Sage Policy Group’s 2018 report The Coming Storm: How Years of Economic Underperformance are Catching up with Montgomery County:
Between 2006 and 2016, Montgomery County lost 12,511 private sector jobs, of which more than 10,300 were in goods producing industries like manufacturing and construction. These positions are often attached to middle-income wages that offer health, retirement and other benefits. Public sector employment expanded by 11,603 net new positions during that period, rendering Montgomery County’s economy even more dependent on public sector outlays.
Since 2018, the county’s progressive leadership has only furthered our reliance on the federal hegemon. The only thing surprising about our dire situation is that it took so long to materialize.
There are two ways to react to our current circumstance. One of them, demanding a return to the status quo, is exhibited by the progressives and their leadership. Senator van Hollen repeats the “illegal” mantra, initiates litigation, uses any means available to overturn the voice of the American electorate, and is doing nothing more than giving the illusion of hope to terminated federal employees who need something much more than illusion from a leadership that failed them.
The other way to react is to realize that many of the terminated federal employees have unbelievably valuable skills that can easily find a home in the private sector. NOAA’s scientists and technicians can already find jobs in the many industries that rely on weather forecasters, including aviation, agriculture, power generation, tourism, and shipping. The same goes for many, many other federal employees with a technical background. Even USAID feds who were writing checks to the BBC can apply for jobs at the various non-profits that they funded, or at non-profits such as those listed in 10 diversity and inclusion nonprofits you should know.
At this point I’d like to commend County Executive Marc Elrich. He makes an annual trip to the Far East in an effort to recruit foreign investment and employment in Montgomery County. I don’t know how successful he has been, and it would be nice to know if the amounts we pay for those trips have been recouped through increased tax revenue. Nevertheless, his approach is correct, and I would very much like to hear about other county leaders who are bringing private-sector work into MoCo. Senator van Hollen has approved billions in subsidies and protections to companies American and foreign: surely he can get one of those companies to open a two-person laptop repair facility in Wheaton.
