The Bush years and Republican outsourcing.
What about these contractors?
About 7.6 million people earned their paycheck through federal government contracts in 2005, a 50 percent increase since 2002.
In 2000, federal spending on all government contracts was $208 billion rising to $457 billion by 2007.
And their lobbyists?
The Washington Post reports that the number of registered lobbyists in Washington doubled between 2000 and 2005, to nearly 35,000.
Six of ten richest counties and twelve of the top 25 richest counties are around Washington DC. In one county alone, there are:
- 183,900 worth between $2 million and $10 million;
- 24,887 worth between ten and fifty million;
- 7,200 ‘really rich’ between a 100 and 500 million;
- 500 tycoons, lobbyists, lawyers, owners worth about a billion.