You may have heard that the national recession has ended — officially. But that news probably brings little comfort to the thousands of DC residents who are unemployed and those who have fallen into poverty. Indeed, this official pronouncement doesn’t change the fact that the challenge now facing DC — and other communities — is how to grow out of the recession in a way that helps the city and its residents get back on their feet. That’s the subject of DCFPI’s latest monthly column in the Capital Community Newspapers — Hill Rag, East of the River, and Mid-City DC
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced earlier this week that the recession officially ended in June 2009, making it the longest recession in the U.S. since World War II. Yet even NBER and many others have noted that economic conditions haven’t improved noticeably ‘ even if the freefall has stopped.
That certainly is the case in the District. DC’s unemployment levels continue to be higher than the national average and we estimate that 11,000 DC residents fell into poverty last year alone. Research from previous recessions shows that unemployment and poverty take much longer to recover after a recession is officially over, with poverty taking the longest.
This means the biggest challenge facing DC will be recovering from the recession. All parts of DC’s budget have been cut, from parks and libraries to affordable housing and adult education. And with the many predicting economic recovery will be slow, how and where policymakers make investments will be critical.
- How will they restore cuts to services that support neighborhoods and residents?
- How will they make smart investments in training and economic development to make sure DC residents are benefiting from the economic recovery that we hope to see? And,
- How will they update the tax system to help DC grow out of the recession?
The recovery has just begun, and we hope it is a robust one. While DC policymakers may not be able to control the pace of our economic rebound, they can take steps to make sure that all DC residents benefit from it. That’s DC’s biggest fiscal challenge.
