ABSTRACT
The District of Columbia’s budget growth has mirrored its population and its economic development increase since the late 1990s. A decades-long population decline reached its nadir in 1998, a time when the District was under the authority of the Financial Control Board imposed by Congress. In the 15 years since, the District’s population has grown by more than 14%, and government operating budget expenditures have more than doubled in nominal terms, growing by 42% in real terms. On a per capita basis, real expenditures have grown, but after peaking in 2008, they fell during the Great Recession and as of 2013 have not yet returned to their 2008 level. During the growth period (1998-2008), signs of unequal growth are evident as income inequality has expanded and poverty levels remain high for particular racial and ethnic groups.
