Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell likes to advertise that his state, unlike Maryland, is not overly reliant on the federal government -- but studies reveal the commonwealth's economy is in just as much danger as its northern neighbor if Congress slashes its budget.
Virginia ranks third in the country for federal spending per capita, with Maryland falling two steps behind at No. 5.
The federal government spent nearly $20,000 per person in Virginia in fiscal 2009, compared with roughly $16,000 per capita in Maryland, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. As a percentage of personal income, federal spending accounted for roughly 45 percent and 47 percent of per-capita income in Virginia and in Maryland, respectively.
The commonwealth, like Maryland, is also the beneficiary of thousands of federal jobs and contracts, because of its proximity to Washington.
Twenty-one of every 1,000 Virginians are employed by the federal government, compared with 24 of every 1,000 Marylanders.
Fairfax County alone is home to 22 of the top 100 government contractors.
Recognizing this level of dependence on the federal government, Moody's Investor Services recently placed both states on its "watch list" for a credit rating downgrade, depending on how the federal government handles its deadline to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.
Maryland lawmakers were somewhat pleased that Virginia was included -- or rather, not ignored by Moody's.
Maryland officials often have complained that Virginia's economy is painted in a more favorable light than their own.
Maryland's chief budget analyst says Virginia's seemingly impenetrable image of fiscal austerity comes from the state government's refusal to release any information on its budget beyond a two-year window.
Virginia also must use some "magic," said Warren Deschenaux, Maryland's legislative services director, at a meeting of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee last week.
Still, McDonnell recently announced that the state finished the fiscal year with a $311 million surplus, while Maryland is facing a $1.1 billion budget hole for the coming fiscal year.
And Virginia's 6 percent unemployment rate is one of the country's lowest, one full percentage point below Maryland's and more than 3 percentage points below the national average.
"The pace of Virginia's economic recovery may be slightly ahead of some other states, but that doesn't mean we are out of the woods, not by any means," McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in a recent interview with The Washington Examiner. "This is an economic recovery characterized by gradual improvements and slow progress, and accompanied by many days of steps forward combined with steps back."
