I've been to DC many times (it's only 135 miles from Philly).

Here's what I've noticed about the place:

1) Many of the movers-and-shakers don't actually live in DC. They live
in VA and MD, and commute.

2) Many of those who live in DC are students, foreign nationals, etc.

3) Many of those who live in DC permanently are very poor. Crime is
high and conditions are terrible.

4) DC is essentially an urban area from border to border. Even in the
nicer parts it's not that ham-friendly compared to suburbs, small
towns and rural areas. Urban areas tend to have a lower ham
population. (How many hams actually live in Manhattan or downtown SF?

5) Regulatory agencies are usually headed by political appointees.
That's the nature of the game since Andrew Jackson described the
"spoils system." The FAA isn't run by all pilots; the FRA isn't run by
all train drivers, etc. (In fact, if the FCC were run by hams, some
might claim they had a conflict of interest).

6) There are statistical variations all over the place in the license-
counts table. The difference is 2 to 1 in the numbers you cited
between the highest and lowest hams-per-capita areas. Look at the
table other ways and you'll see other variations.

For example, compute the percentage of hams in each state that are in
each license class, and you'll see wide variations from state to
state. Last time I looked, CT had the highest percentage of Extras,
and CA had the highest percentage of Technicians. Other variations are
all over the place.

I agree that those who make the rules should have a background in what
they are making the rules for. But that sort of thing is usually left
to "staff" in my limited experience.

73 de Jim, N2EY