What makes Washington wealthy

As they each hand thousand of dollars to Uncle Sam today, taxpayers may console themselves that they're funding invaluable public goods. But if you live in or around the nation's capital, you see that federal tax dollars are also funding the prosperity and lavish growth of the Washington region.

The two richest counties in America, and five of the seven richest, are in commuting distance of the U.S. Capitol. Big government is the cause.

President Trump isn't the only developer betting on taxpayers' continued generosity. Walk through downtown D.C. and you will see construction cranes every few blocks, as the ballooning wealth of the region funds gleaming new office towers where the elites will work hard to siphon money from the provinces to themselves. For celebrity chefs, Washington is the place to open a new restaurant. Corporations more and more move their headquarters to Northern Virginia, to be on the tax-efficient doorstep of the taxing-and-spending federal city.

Whereas Detroit once made cars, Hollywood makes movies, and New York finances the economy, Washington mostly makes government.

How does big government enrich D.C. and its denizens? What's the mechanism? There are a few ways.