November 15, 2007 (LPAC)--The distinctive sound of a solitary foot step clanking in the hall way of an empty building in the Dulles Corridor, in 'Ground Zero' Loudoun County, is now commonplace. The Dulles Corridor is the 8-mile area around Dulles Airport, which attracted the likes of companies such as Sprint, Volkswagen, and Sallie Mae, to occupy large commercial complexes there. Today, of the 53.2 million square feet of office space that exists in the Dulles Corridor, 14.7% -- or 7.7 million square feet-- stands vacant, compared to a vacancy rate of only 2.1% in 1997.

Speculation processes built the Dulles Corridor. First, the "fool's gold" of the dot.com boom, which went resoundingly bust in March, 2000. Then, after Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government began pumping money into national security programs, with many of these dollars going to Northern Virginia developers. But not for lack of trying, that is slowing down. "There is going to be a lot of competition for tenants out there, and I am not going to paint a pretty picture," George F. McKenzie, CEO of the the Rockville, Maryland-based Washington Real Estate Investment Trust informed analysts during a conference call last month, speaking about the vast vacancies.

Simultaneously, the Loudoun County residential property side of the boom has collapsed, serving as Ground Zero for the nationwide housing bust. Families, foreclosed from their homes, are put with their belongings out on the street. Urgent carrying out of LaRouche's Homeowners and Bank Protection Act is the only barrier that can stop Loudoun County from becoming a depopulated, desolated wasteland.