Growls

According to the latest analysis by Americans for Tax Reform, tomorrow, July 11, marks Cost of Government Day for 2007. Per ATR, it’s “the date of the calendar year on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels.” The components include not only federal spending, but also federal regulations, state and local government spending, and state and local regulations.

There are two significant trends, according to ATR. They are:

“Cost of Government Day falls two days later in 2007 than last year’s revised date of July 9th. In 2007, the average American will need to work an additional 11 days out of the year to pay off his or her cost of government compared to 2000. Slower economic growth, a recession, the war, Hurricane Katrina, increased spending and corporate scandals were responsible for the dramatic increase from June 29th in 2000 to as high as July 12th in 2005."

“Consistent with historical changes in the index, as the economy expanded, the cost of government declined due to lower levels of spending and higher incomes of workers. However, the drop in the cost of government was short lived and the index increased by two days in 2007. The increase in the index is tempered by slowing national income growth despite significant spending growth.“

While the COGD both nationwide and in Virginia is July 11, the cost of government could be worse. In Connecticut, it’s August 2 this year while in Arlington’s neighbor, the District of Columbia, COGD is July 24. But Virginia’s burden could be much less, e.g., in Alabama and Oklahoma, the COGD for 2007 is June 22. Remember that when you are in the voting booth in November!