Politics

Congressman Openly Prays For DC To Hit ‘A Recession’

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A Republican congressman from Iowa drew the ire of Washington, D.C., residents after sending out a tweet critical of spending in the city, advocating for an economic downturn in the nation’s capital.

Rep. Rod Blum said in the tweet spending projects in D.C. are coming at the expense of U.S. taxpayers. Accompanying the tweet is a picture of the skyline in Southwest D.C. populated by several construction cranes.

Washington DC is booming. Tower cranes everywhere. Being built on the backs of US taxpayers. DC needs a recession. pic.twitter.com/BcE8kRPfUq

— Rod Blum (@RodBlum) March 21, 2016

Blum’s wish for economic collapse in the capital of the U.S. drew swift rebukes on Twitter, with people asking the congressman if he was on drugs. Users also pointed out the cranes photographed all belong to the same project: a $2 billion project called The Wharf to build apartments, condominiums and 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space. The funding for the project stems primarily from private investment, and the only taxpayers on the hook for The Wharf are D.C. residents, reports The Washingtonian.

@RodBlum 1) you're an idiot 2) these cranes are all for the same project at the wharf

— Travis Hughes (@TravisSBN) March 22, 2016

@RodBlum are you high right now?

— john r stanton (@dcbigjohn) March 23, 2016

@RodBlum I live in DC and don't have a voice in Congress. My federal taxes pay for your corn subsidies!

— Alicia Rodriguez (@alirod_dc) March 22, 2016

This is not the first time Blum called for an economic downturn in the city. Just a week after Jeb Bush said during his presidential campaign he would “create a little bit of a recession in Washington, DC, so that we can have economic prosperity outside of Washington” in October, Blum tweeted a similar picture of cranes working on The Wharf project with a tweet advocating the need to cause a recession in the city.

EIGHT tower cranes in 6 block radius. We need to cause a recession … in Washington DC. pic.twitter.com/bTBdjSqQZo

— Rod Blum (@RodBlum) October 23, 2015

Angered residents responded similarly to Blum’s October tweet, asking where the sense was in wishing economic calamity on citizens who do not even have their own representation in Congress.

@RodBlum Little Rod Blum is in Congress, but doesn't understand that DC doesn't have representation, or how private development works. SAD.

— EdTheRed (@EdwinTheRedwin) March 23, 2016

In her State of the District address Tuesday Mayor Muriel Bowser said D.C. is in a strong position, using the visual of cranes as an example of the city’s economic progress.

“Right now, when you look across the District, we have projects in all 8 wards that will lead to 32,000 new jobs,” Bowser said in her address. “While some may see cranes in the air, I see 32,000 pathways to the middle class in the near future.”

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