Now this is depressing. I've written frequently about the Tax Foundation's calculation of Tax Freedom Day, which is arrived at by dividing total federal, state and local taxes by national income. This year we worked until April 12 to pay all taxes. But Grover Norquist's group has now calculated a Cost of Government Day by adding in the other costs of government overreach (think Obamacare and the EPA, for example):
When you include the costs of federal deficit spending and the regulatory burden this year, however, you don't reach the Cost of Government Day until Aug. 12. Americans will work for 103 days to pay for federal spending, 44 days for state and local spending and 77 days to cover the cost of the regulatory burden.
This is the third year in a row that Americans will work into August to pay for the cost of government. Before 2009, the day never fell later than July 21.
That's today, in case you missed it, which is more than seven months into the year. Was I saying people who blamed the Tea Party for our credit downgrading were imbeciles? I was being too kind.
But, anyway, Happy Cost of Government Day! Go buy yourself a drink if you have any money left.
Comments
Really winning the future aren't we?
These calculations are cute, of course, but statistically meaningless.
The point is, they do not take into account the value of the government services that are returned to the taxpayer.
Do you really want to be responsible for the expense of paving the road directly in front of your house? How about your parents' old-age pensions? There is no reasonable way to calculate all this give and take, so the statistic means nothing.
Nice try Littlejohn. Here's an analogy for you.
If it takes a plane 5.5 hours to travel from New York to L.A. it makes absolutely no difference if the seats are lousy or plush, the food is lousy or gourmet and the flight attendants surly or sweet, it's still a 5.5 hour flight.
As the article above clearly (one would think) points out, it takes a little over 7 months of the year to satisfy our payment to Uncle Sam whether the services rendered are lousy or great is immaterial, the fact is it takes just over 7 months to pay for those services.
Once again you illustrate why liberals and their arguments just can't be taken seriously. They are all emotion and obfuscation. Instead of addressing the issue you hijacked the thread and rambled on emotionally about road paving and old peoples pensions.
Ain't got a damn thing to do with the article hoss.
If the government wasn't taxing you as much, and you were paying off your obligation to D.C. quicker, you would still be working those days, if not more, to come up with the money to having a local paving firm do that road in front of your house. You are spending work time to pay for services, whether or not those services are provided by D.C. or Sam's asphalt company.
AJ
Tim, that's not just federal taxes. That's state and local as well.
Does it really matter whether you pay the local solid waste management district instead of Joe's Trash Hauling, Inc.? Well, yes. If everybody pays the district, then everybody's trash gets collected, and there isn't a big heap sitting behind Henry's house harboring rats until Henry makes his annual trip to the landfill to dispose of the trash.
Does it really matter whether you pay your water bill to the City of New Haven or you pay American Waterworks, Inc.? Well, yes. The city might be more responsive to your complaints that the water has Aldrin and Dieldrin in it.
But in both of those cases, it pushes Tax Freedom Day later in the year, even though your out-of-pocket expenses are perzackly (to crib from Walt Kelly) the same.