Many of my fellow District-dwellers were hoping that the global deflationary spiral/financial crash/housing collapse might bring the price on a two-bedroom in Mt. Pleasant down from, say, several bazillion dollars. That doesn't seem to have happened. And in part, it's probably because the federal government is something of a counter-cyclical industry, as you can see from this chart Catherine Rampell pulled together:
I can see the recruiting posters now. "The Federal Government: Because seriously, where else are you going to go?"
I can see the recruiting posters now. "The Federal Government: Because seriously, where else are you going to go?" 
