'Fat and Happy' Reston to be the Epicenter of Federal Budget Cuts, Says Newspaper Not From Reston

To explore the "human impact" of "sequestration," the fancy New York Times dispatched a "reporter" -- which is kind of like a blogger, except they occasionally put on hard shoes and leave the house -- to "check out the story," as we've heard them say in movies about newspapers. Said reporter apparently took the Acela down to DC and, using highly honed investigative journalism skills, found himself on the 595 to Reston.

To listen to the human side of sequestration, wait in line here for the 595 bus to Reston, Va., a journey across a suburbia grown fat and happy on a federal spending boom in the past decade, primarily military.

Fat and happy? Sounds like a positive story!

While the rest of the country experienced a corrosive recession, unemployment in Arlington County, home of the Pentagon, never rose above 5 percent. Nearby Fairfax County, with a cyberintelligence industry that took off after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, gorged on government contracts to private companies.

Wow, that turned quickly. Haters gonna hate.

But there's no denying that the impact of federal budget cuts will have an impact on the area, even if the sequester, whatever that is, is addressed by Congress.

The Washington metropolitan area, especially Northern Virginia, is in line to experience the largest economic hit of any region from the $85 billion in spending cuts that President Obama made official late Friday.

Because the automatic cuts, known as sequestration, fall unevenly across the country, many Americans are greeting them with a shrug. Their nonchalance is heightened because the 2.4 percent lopped from a federal budget of $3.55 trillion is relatively small and will not happen all at once. Moreover, Congressional Republicans have accused the White House of exaggerating the impact for political gain.

But in Northern Virginia the cuts will be deeply felt, economists said, assuming there is no political deal to undo them, a dimming prospect. The White House said the Defense Department would furlough 90,000 civilian employees based in Virginia, the most of any state, reducing their salaries by 20 percent this year.

The ripple effect, as those employees pare expenses, put off car purchases and delay buying a home, is expected to be large. Some economists predict that Virginia will slip into recession.

“No more movies, no more out-to-dinners, no more fun,” Robin Roberts, a civilian budget employee in the Defense Department, said as she waited for the 595 outside the Pentagon for the ride home. She and her husband, who is retired, have canceled their summer vacation. They switched to a cheaper phone plan. “It’s just pay the mortgage, pay the utilities, no more frills.”

Americans far from Washington who say government spending is reckless and unsustainable may not shed a tear for its suburban counties, 6 of which are among the 10 richest in the country, according to the census. But that prosperity has largely rained down on government contractors; federal employees, especially younger ones, depend on their middle-class wages.

“Most of my paycheck goes toward child care,” said Sarah Stein, another rider of the 595. “We’ve cut out what we can cut, and we’re going to be in trouble.”

The Pentagon has told civilian employees to plan on taking 22 days off without pay. Ms. Stein said she would not be able to save on child care even on the days she is home. “We still have to pay for five days a week, whether we go or not,” she said. “People are just very worried.”

And with 37 percent of the region's economy dependent on Uncle Sugar, we can't help but wonder what this means for all the awesome bollardy development slated for Reston. The mauvescraper on Reston Parkway, to give just one example, is unlikely to start reaching skyward until it has a tenant, and if there are fewer dollars flowing to the bomb-to-dolphin-strapping defense contracting industry, it's hard to picture a company forking over the cash for a "trophy" office building. If Once the dust from the current budget gridlock settles, it'll be interesting to see what happens to the area's long-term trends. It's another sign that the champagne wishes and caviar dreams of developers may never come to their full fruition, and we may be stuck in a hellish future of midrise garden apartments, golf courses, and Ford Focuses. The horror!

Update: Our hometown newspaper also weighs in.