November 15, 2008, 10:12 am
Why The Economic Downturn Doesn't Seem To Have Affected Washington (Yet)
All around the country people are nervously holding their collective breath, hoping that there's no "next shoe" in the economic slowdown. In Washington, the talk is about cautious optimism that Federal budgets are not slashed, and that interest groups continue spending. But so far, Washington has been spared the horrific economic storm.
Why?
For the last six months, that answer could be attributed to the election. Most entities were spending or had committed their spending for the election cycle far before the downturn cut into budgets. For candidates and issues using Washington firms, their fundraising largely survived because of the point in time the downturn came about.
But I also believe that Washington (or at least the part of Washington I work for) is insulated based on what it does. We don't generally serve large companies that are subject to the whims of consumer spending. Instead, the majority of my work is focused on interest groups, corporate law firms, Federal compliance issues and the like.
Interest groups are going to be impacted but will still focus on the web as a means of inexpensively getting their message out. So there is no great decline there.
Law firms and corporations that wish to influence policy will continue spending, as it is almost a necessity. They cannot halt lobbying on, say, energy reform, for fear that it will pass before the economy comes back and they'll be left out.
If we served small shops or, say, carmakers, we could possibly face a downturn. But I think the larger Washington technology community will weather the storm. The largest part of our focus is on those groups who either want to get their tasks accomplished regardless of the economy. They will spend less to be sure, but will not halt spending entirely; I believe this will largely protect Washington from the onslaught of the economic downturn.
Want to make a comment?
Log in below or Sign Up!