The above map from the Bureau of Labor Statistics isn't particularly news. Unemployment has shot up across the state, but roughly in proportion to the amount of unemployment already existing before the recession began. That is to say, well-off areas (Fairfax) are continuing to be relatively fine.
The city of Martinsville isn't so lucky, leading the state with an astonishing 21.9% unemployment rate. One out of every five residents of Martinsville is unemployed, a level unseen for 18 years.
On an abstract level, the current economic meltdown could be great news for Republican nominee for Governor Bob McDonnell. As the standardbearer of the minority party, McDonnell is free to pin every disaster on Barack Obama and the Democrats that were sent to office with the help of suddenly Democratic Virginia.
This might work had Virginia Republicans not taken their finger and stuck it in the eye of Virginia's unemployed by standing alone in the House of Delegates and turning away $125 million in stimulus money for Virginia's unemployed. Tax cuts won't do Martinsville any good--the unemployed aren't paying taxes anyway.
The populist pitchfork rebellion hasn't started yet--but it will soon. It's one thing to bash Obama's economic recovery plan to an audience that is merely having some trouble paying off credit card debt. It's another thing to have nearly a fifth of the entire City of Martinsville used as political pawns in a game of "Hide the Stimulus". |
