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VOLUME 36 NO. 18
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G R E AT FA L L S • M c L E A N • O A K T O N • T Y S O N S • V I E N N A
DECEMBER 25, 2014
N.Va. Needs Tech and International Sectors to Thrive
ALL REVVED UP FOR CHRISTMAS!
Economist Says Region Must Reposition Itself for the Future BRIAN TROMPETER Staff Writer
Santa Claus, played by Fairfax County police Pfc. Charles Reinhard, arrives at Vienna Police Headquarters Dec. 16 during Santa’s Ride 2014, which collected toys and other presents for children in the community. More on Page 4. PHOTO BY BRIAN TROMPETER
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Faced with reduced federal spending, Northern Virginia must harness its highly educated workforce and become a more attractive place for international and high-technology companies to do business, George Mason University economist Stephen Fuller said. Speaking Dec. 16 at Northern Virginia Association of Realtors’ headquarters in Merrifield, Fuller said the region needs to redeploy its existing economic base – something far easier to do with “brain workers” than with auto workers. The Washington area is home to 180 foreign consulates and people who speak all the world’s languages, thus making it an ideal hub for international business, he said. Fuller predicted the region’s economic success would be predicated on cyber-security, bio-informatics and other technology- and engineeringbased businesses. “We have the wherewithal,” he said. “We just now have to reposition it into the approach-
ing global-business base. I don’t know how you do that. It happens on its own. You can’t legislate it.” Federal spending accounted for 40 percent of the local area’s gross domestic product in 2010. That figure now stands at 35 percent and likely will drop to 25 percent by 2020, Fuller said. “This is a structural shift,” he said. “We’ve been a company town for 210 years. Ours will [continue to] be a company town, but 15 percent smaller.” Many companies that cut their teeth working for the Department of Defense now will solve business-related problems, Fuller said. “These former federal contractors who lost their jobs or are doing work that doesn’t excite them are starting their own businesses,” he said. Northern Virginia has strong “entrepreneurial juices” and the advantages of Washington Dulles International Airport, Metrorail’s new Silver Line and excellent Internet service, Fuller noted. Fuller chronicled the eco-
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