You Can Begin Working For Yourself This Week
According to Americans for Tax Reform, “Cost of Government Day (COGD) is 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 the spending and regulatory burden imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels.” For 2010, COGD occurred on August 19. ATR writes:
“On average, working people must toil 231 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government. In other words, the cost of government consumes 63.41 percent of national income.”
For Virginians, however, COGD occurs on Wednesday, August 25. This year, Virginia ranks 40th in the nation, an improvement from 2009 when the Commonwealth ranked 44th. Among the states, Connecticut taxpayers will be working for government until September 17th, the same as last year. (emphasis added)
The four components of COGD, nationally, include working 104 days to pay for federal spending; 52 days to pay for state and local spending; 48 days to pay for federal regulation; and 26 days to pay for state and local regulation. ATR writes that COGD trends include:
“Cost of Government Day (COGD) falls 8 days later in 2010 than last year’s revised date of August 11. In 2010, the average American will have to work an additional 51 days out of the year to pay off his or her share of the cost of government compared to 2000, when COGD was June 29.
“In fact, between 1977 and 2008, COGD has never fallen later than July 20. 2010 marks only the second year that this has happened—2009 being the first. The difference between 2008 and 2009—from July 16 to August 11—was a full 26 days, spurred primarily by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), passed under the guise of economic “stimulus.”
“The so-called “stimulus” continues in full swing in 2010. In addition, 2010 saw the expansion of government in the form of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is expected to cost one trillion dollars. This year’s date has continued to climb upward, setting a new record at August 19. This late date is driven by continued government spending on all levels and a further increase in the regulatory burden which, taken in combination with a struggling economy, have made the cost of government equal to 63.41 percent of national income.”
Sure is something to remember while you’re voting on November 2. If you need something to remember that, here’s a graph provided by Americans for Tax Reform:
