Happy Cost Of Government Day!

I learned something from Americans for Tax Reform that I wanted to pass along to you:

On July 16, Americans mark the national Cost of Government Day (COGD), the date on the calendar year when the average American finishes paying off his or her share of federal, state and local spending, and the regulatory burden. Cost of Government Day falling on July 16 means that you had to work 197 days out of the year just to meet all the costs imposed by government.  In other words, the total cost of government – far more than taxation alone – consumes 53.9 percent of national income.

 

The burden imposed by government has increased in recent years, leading this year's Cost of Government Day to be four days later than last year's COGD, and sixteen days later than COGD in 2000.   The looming entitlement crisis will only exacerbate the problem of government consuming more of the national income and, if left unchecked, will move Cost of Government even later into the year.

 

We have also calculated Cost of Government Day for each respective state – where does your state rank?

 

ATR's newly launched Center for Fiscal Accountability seeks to not only highlight the burdens imposed by government, but to promote transparency and accountability, which are key components to any reform that leads toward more limited government, and ultimately, an earlier Cost of Government Day.  Stay tuned for the launch of our website at www.fiscalaccountability.org. You will not be disappointed.

Did you realize that it is only today that you start keeping the equivalent of your entire paycheck?  I didn't.  Oh, sure, the taxes come out each time you get paid, but if you were to slide them all to the beginning of the year rather than taking out a portion with each paycheck, you would work for literally half the year before you would pay them all off!  The slickest trick our government has ever pulled was to make taxes invisible - by deducting them from our paycheck automatically before our money comes to us, it becomes an out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing.  Most people don't realize just how much of their own money is taken by the government, but reminders like this are very healthy for us to get every now and then.

There's my two cents.