Washington D.C. Area Surpasses Silicon Valley in Wealth

Bloomberg reports:

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

The U.S. capital has swapped top spots with Silicon Valley, according to recent Census Bureau figures, with the typical household in the Washington metro area earning $84,523 last year. The national median income for 2010 was $50,046.

This is a sign of rent-seeking out of control. In a free market, consumers determine who becomes wealthy. In a rent-seeking society, government officials become wealthy off of handing out special privileges. The bigger government gets: the wealthier the non-producers of the D.C. area will become. For more on the real class war , click on this.