Welcome to Washington. Now pay up. (2)

The District of Columbia is trying to squeeze every penny out of city businesses and those who patronize them. Local business owners are complaining or quite simply closing shop. District leaders need to realize that this is 2010, not 1970, and that they cannot safely assume that Maryland and Virginia cannot compete for those businesses. Things for which people used to head downtown, from the latest trendy restaurant to the performing arts, are now increasingly cropping up in the suburbs. Just how badly do D.C. leaders want to accelerate that trend?