But - surprise! - Northern Virginia wins big again. Google announced they will double their workforce in Northern Virginia, and there are help wanted ads online to prove it. Hundreds of them. All proceeds go to the coffers of Fairfax County, while Montgomery County couldn't even make it through the current fiscal year without emergency budget cuts, and faces a structural budget deficit as far out as the forecasts go.
While Virginia leaders were negotiating another thrilling victory for their constituents, Montgomery County elected officials were distracted by national politics, and shilling for their developer sugar daddies with a plan to quadruple MCPS overcrowding by allowing multifamily housing in currently single-family home residential neighborhoods.
How is that new County Council working out for you, folks? Residents are still trying to learn more about the low-energy strangers who were elected on Election Day last year, with no media coverage of the general election Council races. Let's hope we get at least a few details soon.
Here's what we do know: More tax increases and speed limit decreases ahead! More school overcrowding and road congestion! But no new high-wage jobs or major corporate headquarters, and the desperately-needed revenue they provide. So sad.
Another disastrous turn of events for the corrupt Montgomery County cartel!
48 comments:
So will you apply for one of those jobs?
"All proceeds go to the coffers of Fairfax County"
The soon-to-be-expanded Google data center is in Loudoun County, dumbass.
We are all still waiting for your top ten list of what you would change if you were in charge. It’s easy to complain, but we have yet to see the Robert Dyer list of proposed changes to save our fair county from apparently eminent implosion. And please no “elect me and I will tell you” comments. State your plan for a fix in a concise ten bullet point list.
Let me start it for you.
1. Build a new bridge over the Potomac, but make sure people and money and businesses can only move from NoVa to MoCo with a custom one-way valve system.
2. Require all new large developments to include both a blockbuster scale cineplex and a disco.
3. Grandfather all existing crappy strip centers in amber so they cannot be improved.
4. Require that all new development be fully constructed off site, and silently be placed onto their sites using electric helicopters, between the hours of 11:00 AM and 11:30 AM, with out any sidewalk closures.
Given that this is expansion of an existing data center in Loudoun County, how would Montgomery County have had any chance of getting that?
All the Dyer haters out there know that he is right. Just to be clear, I am not Dyer posing as someone else. MoCo's high taxes and general unfriendliness towards business is the reason the local economy is going down the tank. You can take shots at Dyer all you want but you know he is right about this stuff. Trying to say MoCo doesn't have an economic problem right now is like denying climate change.
NoVa, in contradistinction to MoCo, is actually bringing jobs in. Someday I hope the Hans and the phony social justice warriors will realize that economic empowerment is the fastest way to change things.
That said, I think you all are awesome.
9:02AM - Agreed. Correlation is not causation. ¡el cielo se está cayendo!
Many feel the county is pandering to the rich while ignoring the middle class.
I'm hearing that every.damn.day.
"More speed limit decreases ahead!"
WTF does that have to do with anything, Dyer?
If MoCo residents take jobs at the new Google offices in VA, then MD benefits. The reason is that MD, VA, DC (and PA and WV as I recall) have reciprocity agreements in place for state income tax, so income tax earned by an MD resident working in VA gets taxed by MD only (and vice versa).
It's still not a "win" for MD by any means.. just Dyer's headline is misleading in how there is no tax revenue going to MD.
I also know people who work at a datacenters in Loudoun. More MD residents than you'd expect. The reason is datacenters are 24/7 operations, so the MD people just choose to work the night shifts so they have no traffic on their commutes anyway.
Given the existing Internet/datacenter infrastructure in the Sterling, and that the proposed Google facility is an expansion to their existing datacenters there, I'd love to hear Dyer explain how he would have gotten this for Montgomery County had he been elected.
Also, I hope he will eventually figure out that Sterling is in Loudoun County, not "Fairfax County".
2:33: Wrong - the new Google jobs are in Reston, which is in Fairfax County.
2:24: If your theory was true, we would not have our current budget deficit in Montgomery County. Very few people work in any given datacenter; there are hundreds of Google jobs listed online for NoVa right now, and there are not hundreds of positions at datacenters. These are going to Reston, not Sterling.
10:06: It has everything to do with further slowing traffic, further scaring away companies like Amazon that are focused on speedy logistics.
8:00: You obviously haven't bothered to take even a cursory look at my agenda at RobertDyer.net. Very detailed proposals that are supported by chambers of commerce on both sides of the Potomac (unlike the Berzerkley-inspired agendas of our current Councilmembers!).
7:14: Nope, Reston, Dumbo.
How do you think that NOT building new housing is going to solve our "structural deficit"?
5;43 AM
I went to robertdyer.net and carefully reviewed your post, specifically the section “A county in decline”, and just like this site, all I see are rants and complaints about the way the county and planning department are run, but just like this site, not ONE constructive suggestion about how to FIX the problems.
I’ll ask again, just give us a concise LIST of how you would begin fix what you perceive as being broken.
Let us debate your ideas, and perhaps together we can come up with constructive solutions, not just “Betrayed Again” Posters.
From RobertDyer.net:
"Many residents have found their property tax has literally become a second mortgage."
You don't know what a "second mortgage" actually is (probably because you've never had to pay for housing in your life), and you don't know what the word "literally" actually means, either.
"How do you think that NOT building new housing is going to solve our "structural deficit"?"
Or attract or help create new businesses?
6:48: Because the results of the massive housing increase since 2000 in MoCo has resulted in government costs exceeding the revenue generated by that new housing. And housing prices and rents have only *increased* as supply increases, to boot.
What we're missing are the jobs and revenue from high-wage business enterprises.
In contrast, Tysons had the jobs and business revenue - now they are adding the housing.
6:44: You know nothing of my financial situation. You also don't know what the word "literally" means either, as you don't realize that taxes as high as a mortgage payment are indeed a second mortgage. Not everybody is getting a free dingy apartment from the MoCo Cartel in trade for Astroturf PR work like you.
"You know nothing of my financial situation. Not everybody is getting a free dingy apartment from the MoCo Cartel in trade for Astroturf PR work like you."
Shorter: "You're right, Alinsky. I've never paid for my own housing."
"Many residents have found their property tax has literally become a second mortgage."
Um, no. Even a $25,000 annual property tax (Estimate on $2,000,000 assessment) is nothing like a second mortgage. Or a HELOC for that matter.
Even the monthly escrow for an annual property tax of $10,000 is less than $850/month.
Better pick a different descriptor, this one doesn't pass muster.
7:16: And there are many homes across the country where one could pay under $1000 monthly on their mortgage. Thus it is entirely correct to compare it to a second mortgage.
7:15: Shorter: You have no financial documents of mine to prove anything. Just wild speculation, which makes you an idiot.
"The massive housing increase since 2000 in MoCo"
THE ENTIRE METROPOLITAN area has seen a huge increase in population in the past two decades. Even mostly-built-up jurisdictions such as the District of Columbia, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria.
Montgomery County - 873,341 in 2000, 1,058,810 in 2017 - 21% increase
Frederick County - 195,277 in 2000, 252,022 in 2017 - 29% increase
Howard County - 247,842 in 2000, 321,113 in 2017 - 30% increase
Prince George's County - 801,515 in 2000, 912,756 in 2017 - 14% increase
District of Columbia - 572,059 in 2000, 702,455 in 2017 - 23% increase
City of Alexandria - 128,283 in 2000, 160,035 in 2017 - 25% increase
Arlington County - 189,453 in 2000, 234,965 in 2017 - 24% increase
Fairfax County - 969,749 in 2000, 1,148,433 in 2017 - 18% increase
City of Fredericksburg - 19,279 in 2000, 28,360 in 2017 - 47% increase
Loudoun County - 169,599 in 2000, 398,080 in 2017 - 135% increase
Prince William County - 280,813 in 2000, 463,023 in 2017 - 65% increase
Spotsylvania County - 90,395 in 2000, 133,033 in 2017 - 47% increase
Stafford County - 92,446 in 2000, 146,649 in 2017 - 59% increase
"And there are many homes across the country where one could pay under $1000 monthly on their mortgage. Thus it is entirely correct to compare it to a second mortgage."
Wow, that is really dumb, even for you, Dyer. What does that hypothetical house in Tennessee have to do with a real house here in Montgomery County?
"Shorter: You have no financial documents of mine to prove anything. Just wild speculation, which makes you an idiot."
A complete lack of transparency is not a good image for someone running for a government office or supposedly engaging in journalism.
8:01: More mumbo jumbo with numbers. Facts: Clarksburg alone has increased over 800% in population since 2000. Damascus has tripled.
8:06: That hypothetical house's mortgage is the same or less monthly payment as many people's property tax in MoCo. Ergo, our property taxes have become a second mortgage for many people.
8:08: You have the housing and employment paperwork on each current Councilmember? No, you don't. You have the paperwork for Jennifer Barrios at the Post? No, you don't. Your straw man is on fire.
"More mumbo jumbo with numbers. Facts: Clarksburg alone has increased over 800% in population since 2000. Damascus has tripled."
And you could find similar surges in specific regions of Fairfax, Loudoun and all the other jurisdictions listed.
You suck at statistical analysis, Dyer.
"That hypothetical house's mortgage is the same or less monthly payment as many people's property tax in MoCo."
Again, you're comparing two different (hypothetical) houses. A more expensive house is going to have both higher mortgage payments, and higher property taxes, than a less expensive house. You can't just say that the property tax payment for the expensive house is somehow analogous to the mortgage for the cheaper house.
"Your straw man is on fire."
And you just showed that you don't understand what the term "straw man" actually means.
Wow, aren't you touchy. I wonder if Ms Barrios holds you in the same high regard as you do her. Interesting I've never seen her publish any insults towards you.
To have a mortgage payment (principal & interest only) of around $1,000 the loan would be around $210,000. Assessment on $210,000 (county & state only) is about $2,300.
Like I said:
Better pick a different descriptor, this one doesn't pass muster.
I don't know if it's hypocrisy or ignorance that generates these editorials. You promote conflicting goals as if they were the same thing. Decry the failure to land major employers and in less than a paragraph you are complaining about new housing and overcrowded schools. Hey, guess what, the unemployment rate in MoCo is 2.6%. If Google or Amazon moves here, we will need new residents to fill those jobs. Those residents will need housing and schools.
4:49: Classic Saul Alinksy - back to another dead horse from years ago. Economics 101: the unemployment rate of Montgomery County does not reflect the number of those jobs that are actually IN Montgomery County. In fact, we know that the vast majority of them are in D.C. and Northern Virginia.
No, with over 1 million residents well-qualified to work at major corporations, and more graduating every year from college, we do not need "new residents" to fill those jobs. Many others will commute. But given that no major corporation currently wants to come to moribund Montgomery County, the question is moot anyway.
9:17: My second mortgage argument not only passes muster, but it's so good that I'm even more excited about it this year than last. Another tax hike - automatic with home value assessment - is coming this year. Property taxes will rise again.
"If it's what you say, I love it." - Donald Trump, Jr.
How come you aren't allowing comments on the mall closings article?
"we know that the vast majority of [jobs] are in D.C. and Northern Virginia."
So how many Montgomery County residents are actually employed outside of the County? Do you have some actual numbers?
"But given that no major corporation currently wants to come to moribund Montgomery County"
I guess it's useless at this point to remind you that only a tiny fraction of the jobs in a typical large corporation are in their corporate headquarters.
6:34: I'd like to see you say that to the CEOs of Apple, Google and Amazon.
6:32: A majority are employed outside of the County. Check traffic cameras any non-holiday on commuter routes if you are struggling with this idea.
"A majority are employed outside of the County."
That's not an actual number. That's just your own claim.
Google already had a Reston office. In fact they've had a presence in NoVa since at least 2005 when they hired a few engineers away from AOL and let them work remotely. MoCo will always have trouble competing for tech jobs because of decisions made in the mid 1980s when UUNet was created born out of Usenet as a tier 1 ISP. It caused AOL to MOVE from Fairfax in Tysons to Loudoun in Dulles in 1997.
The UUNet decision has had a massive impact in the region as being close in proximity to it means faster internet speeds. Amazon, Google, the federal government and many others place their data centers near by.
Fast forward to present day while Google has their office and adding more jobs to Reston, I know of at least 3 in that office work remotely 2-3 days a week at minimum. So while the job may be based in Reston, the employee lives and works in MoCo. This trend will continue to grow and so while Google or Amazon may "pay taxes" in VA, employees for those companies and many more work and live in Maryland.
Maryland has their own version of UUNet which is in the bio-medical field thanks to Johns Hopkins/NIH. There isn't an equal to JHU in NoVA at this point.
12:47 PM - Very well explained. Thank you.
But good luck trying to persuade someone who thinks that the solution to Montgomery County's alleged moribund economy is moving the Boeing factory from Everett, Washington to the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
http://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2015/08/passionfish-hiring-in-bethesda.html
7:41 AM psychoanalyzing a man you've never had a conversation with, let alone met in person
Dyer, I'm convinced, we need a Democratic Governor!!!
Why is a Republican demanding that the County do anything like putting conditions on what business goes in a development? Power to the people, not to the government.
12:17 PM Because that is working out so well next door in Virginia
I stumbled upon an article in the Washington Business Journal that debunk’s Dyer’s notion that no jobs are being added in MoCo.
According to the Bereau of Labor Statistic, in 2018, 52,100 jobs were added in the DC Region, placing it ninth in the ranking of the largest metro regions in the country (down from eighth in 2017), for a growth of 1.6 %. This is ahead of Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit and Chicago. Above the DC Region in new jobs ranking were Boston,Miami, San Francisco/Oakland, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and at the very top, Seattle, the home of Amazon HQ1 that had a job growth of 3.4%, mostly all Amazonian’s.
Of those 51,200 new jobs, 26.7% were in MoCo, 13.3% were in DC and 60% were in NoVa. So “moribund” MoCo had TWICE the job growth of the entire city of Washington DC. Of course MoCo was way less than NoVa, by a wide margin. But NoVa is just completing an 11 year long, $8.5 billion dollar investment in the Silver Line. Almost all of the new investment in NoVa is within walking distance of a Silver Line Station, at dozens of massive new development projects.
Yes, MoCo is in second place in the region for new jobs, but with 13,670 new jobs in 2018, it is far from what a reasonable person might call “moribund”. I would imagine that the Purple Line will have a smaller but very significant effect on the job growth in areas that are walkable to a new Purple Line Station, just like NoVa is experiencing with the Silver Line.
Do we add 9:20's comment? Or is it too close to this one?
The sheepshill library :
"poor impulse control"
"the genesis of your inner pain"
--->"probably never met or spoken to the man"
"inside baseball"
"Edward R Murrow award"
"consumed with resentment"
"colorful socks"
WTOP had more coverage of George Leventhal's socks than they had about the at large Council general election.
1:52: Can you provide a link to the BLS data? While the numbers predictably show us far behind Virginia, there's no tangible evidence or corroboration of that many jobs coming to MoCo last year. Given that our job growth and business expansion have even lagged behind Culpeper and Rappahannock counties for the entire decade, there's no way we could have beaten DC, or even had that many jobs created here. They would have been announced loudly by the cartel-controlled media.
Some stats just don't pass the smell test.
The data from 2018 is still preliminary, but here is a link for the Job Growth in The Washington Region in 2017 from the Fuller Institute at GMU, harvested from the BLS.
http://sfullerinstitute.gmu.edu/2018/03/12/jobs-2017/
It shows similar data with a total job growth in 2017 of 50,900 in the Washington DC Region with 22,600 new jobs in NoVa, 12,800 new jobs in Suburban Maryland and only 7,500 new jobs in the District of Columbia. So 2017 Suburban Maryland had over THREE times the job growth as DC, but only 56% as much as NoVa.
Now this data is titled as reporting for the Washington DC Region, but it appears that suburban Maryland covers a much larger area that DC, and in addition to MoCo, it also includes Prince George’s County, and perhaps even Fredrick County. So MoCo alone, would have a lower total job growth, but the data is not broken out.
I apologize for previously stating the data was just for MoCo, but still an impressive bit of growth for the Suburban Maryland areas that are coummutable to DC.
6:35: Ok, that makes a little more sense that they were including a few other counties in that 12800 number.
Here is a chart for the Silver Spring/Rockville/Fredrick Region known as the MD Washington Region.
Non-farm labor increased by 11,700 new jobs from November of 2017 to November of 2018. So it looks like about 1/2 of those 22,800 new jobs are in the MoCo and Fredrick Counties.
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/SMU24435240000000001?amp%253bdata_tool=XGtable&output_view=data&include_graphs=true
Admittedly, still not anywhere near NoVa’s extreme growth, but still not “moribund”.
7:22: I think by the time you break out the Montgomery number, it will not only look moribund compared to Loudoun and Fairfax, but in the context of all the advantages we should have on paper, downright humiliating.
Just as one example, we didn't even need to build a silver line to attract companies to Wheaton or downtown Silver Spring; we already have the Red Line. But no one is interested. How many years ago did the Wheaton sector plan pass? All those old retail properties are just sitting there years later. No interest. And then we had pick up the tab as taxpayers for the revitalization project, the market is so bad.
Considering that Frederick stole a large factory from Germantown last year, I wouldn't be surprised if Frederick beat us out. The Maryland Restaurant Association said Fredneck's dining sector is booming, but MoCo's was flat.
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