Reply To: what is the cause of income inequality in the jewish commnuity?

n0meshorah: You make a very good point. The Baltimore Washington metro area has a very highly educated Jewish population, with a higher percentage of advanced degrees than just about any other area of the country. However, many of those individuals, especially in D.C. are scientists working at the NIH, FDA, etc. or lawyers and other professionals working at various federal agencies. While some of those agencies have some exemptions from civil service salary caps (just increased to $172,500 for high level GS-15s) most are subject to that cap and earn considerably less than they might earn in comparable jobs in the private sector. However, they are willing to take the salary cuts in return for opportunities for public service, predictable work hours and flexibility to be shomer shabbos/yom tov. I’m sure this includes some yidden who commute to D.C. and its suburbs from Baltimore.