Happy Cost of Government Day
by Brian GarstFor the last 7 1/2 months your labor has belonged to someone else – the state. You have slaved away for the majority of the year to pay for the bailouts, subsidies, vote buying, earmarks and redistribution schemes that make up the majority of spending by governments at all levels, in addition to the price of burdensome regulations. Today, August 19, is the day you have finally payed off your share of the cost of big government.
Every year, Americans for Tax Reform calculates Cost of Government Day, or how long it takes the average American to earn enough to pay off the financial burdens imposed by government. In 2010, it took 231 days of work. That’s 8 more than last year, and more than an extra month from 2008, before Obama took office.
The Cost of Government site provides a detailed breakdown, along with the full report by ATR. The report includes a lot of information, including a breakdown by state. The earliest COGD occurs in Alaska, while the latest is in Connecticut.
The factor which not as many people see, but is captured nonetheless by COGD, is the economic burden created by government regulation.
Not only are the federal bureaucrats enforcing these regulations excessively overpaid, but what they are paid to do also does harm to the economy. The average American works 74 days out of the year to make up for these dead-weight losses.
What will the cost of government be next year? If Congress returns for a lame-duck session to pass destructive cap-and-trade and card check legislation, you can bet that Cost of Government Day will arrive even later next year.
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446 Comments
Don't worry, be happy!
Break out the margueritas and let's all celebrate.
I wondered why my back and shoulders were so darn sore lately. I guess I can look forward to a lighter load until January? Nah, I know better.
C E L E B R A T E Good times come on…… LOL
Don't go on death care whatever you do. ; )
It's a travisty, a sham, a mockery!
IT"S A TRAVISHAMOCKERY!
It is absolutely pathetic and disgusting.
As you stated in your post, "What does that make us?"
Welcome to serfdom brothers and sisters.
Ever see that show " The Colony" ?
I have had the displeasure of experiencing what O'care has in store for us. Seems no orthopedic surgeon in the area will take TRICARE as they won't pay enough. Here we go folks.
No kidding. This regime has put a yoke around our necks to the point that we are concerned with how we are going to feed our families. Of course, welfare recipients have nor worries right!? Oh wait, Obama just raided Food Stamps. That is not going to play out well.
More bread and circuses?
No.
Is it like the new America? The "Collective"?
No.
Its a phucking Obamanation.
And is it ever…Hungry people make for very poor constituents.
Yes.
But the government has learned if they hand out bread on every other day, people will eat less.
And while we are at it America, lets all celebrate Obama's eleventh vacation this year!!! I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful. Repeat after me. I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful.
I don't know about you or FC….but our insurance went up $100. / week… do the math 400 a month I just can't afford it. I need that for bills.
Starvation is a better word for it.
What are we waiting for?
You mean the "Hive"?
Yeah. I remember Glenn did a show on how the Soviet Union starved people and millions died one year. The Soviets stole all of their grain and didn't bother feeding them.
Can we roller skate to that song together LOL!?
No, no, no, don't worry, Gubment Healthcare is awsome. You will have everything you need. As long as you are a good little comrade.
Let me find my skates. ; )
That leaves me 4.5 months to work to pay my bills and purchase food. How did we get to this point? That was a rhetorical question. I know I was asleep at the wheel, but I had no idea that nobody was watching the road. Strange, I relied on others to watch the road, while they were relying on me to watch the road and now we work 7.5 months to pay our share of the car wreck we had. It definitely time to get reliable chauffeurs and we need to make sure we know where they are going at all times.
Ahhhhhh shucks there goes that bright idea…….I'm not a verwy good wittle commie rad.
Unfortunately this is not so. It would be true if we had not debt or deficit, and did not make financial promises to people that will never be met. Therefore, fellow economic slaves, enjoy your prison, with any luck you got to pick the color of the walls and the carpet.
I would like my money back.
When are those who refuse to work going to be force to pick up the slack and pay their fair share? This taxpayer is tired of carrying them.
This blog certainly is fodder for the pissed off patriot's who respond here.
Scale it all back. It's time to reteach self-reliance and responsibility and move away from the nanny-state we have become.
usually is.
LOL….that's what you were telling me earlier. Perhaps you should skip the roller skating for awhile.
Related to the cost of govt was a story here yesterday about IL Rep Jan Schakowsky (D). Her biggest donor received a $2.5 million stimulus contract.
http://biggovernment.com/jpollak/2010/08/18/2-5-m...
WLS AM Chicago's morning show (Don and Roma) often has Jan Schakowsky as a guest. They think she's ridiculous and Don often argues with her. She really is ridiculous and she always spews the left-wing talking points.
I emailed Don and Roma to bring this stimulus deal to their attention. I urge anybody reading this to do the same. Maybe they can ask her about it on the radio?
Here is a link to WLS's email – select "Don & Roma" http://www.wlsam.com/contactus.asp
Jan Schakowsky represents a true swing district and is neck-and-neck with her Republican opponent. Let's flood Don & Roma with emails to make sure they are aware of this.
fyi – last year, Don & Roma was the radio show that got Charlie Gibson to say he knew nothing about the ACORN scandal.
Remember when "tax freedom day" used to come in February or March….?
Do you remember how few years ago that was….?
This is the price of Chairman O's agenda.
In case you proglodytes don't understand that concept, you have declared yourselves incompetent to manage your own lives..
Congratulations use-less idiot liberals you're all wards of the state now!!!
He, he, he, I don't think there are many of them.
I guess it's time to study medicine for self help.
You and me both Caddy!
Go to No Lame Duck session Link! The proposal is this: If you are elected on a Monday in Nov, you are sworn in on a Tuesday, and the person that you replaced has NO LEGISLATIVE POWER! Pack and leave! Tie up loose ends from home! Lame Duck sessions were from the horse & buggy days when we didn't have email, cell phones, fax's.
Also all newly elected officials need to be required, by a new Law to publish a FEDERAL BUDGET! AMERICA IS SICK AND RESENTFUL OF THIS LAST 2 YEARS WHERE WE have no idea where our 13, TRILLION dollars went! That is now UNACCEPTABLE! NEVER AGAIN will a rogue Government rob our Treasury against our Will!
No more ridiculous Grants for studies to keep freeloaders wasting out time and money. Get out and get a job! like we have.
Actually we do have an idea where our money, under obama went. It went to communists! and socialist supporters of the his corrupt marxist Regime, and their attempteD COUP! It doesn't work in America. RETIRE OR be FIRED!
Relevance? Specifics please.
If i remember correctly, with unfunded liabilities every American owes around $150,000.00 . My house is less than that and I still have 22 years to pay on it!
I am smart, good looking and gosh darn it, people like me. Oh wait, those are Al Franken's lines.
My kids laugh at the fact that I did roller skate. My cousins and I would go to the rink on Friday nights. According to my kids, that makes me OLD.
Ii don't drink but I may have to start, make mine a double.
Oh — you and I have our 29th (big LOL here) birthday coming up next month — 29 forever!!
That's what Kontora is striving for – to find a way to be relevant
The current administration would just tell you to use that carrying as a way to excercise and live longer!
That way you are healthy enough to carry more.
We are living in bizzarro world.
electing Obama was even more expensive
I know what you mean. I have aloe vera plants in my house, one would think I'm related to the medicine man. LOL Shhhhhh don't tell no one. I'll be taxed for it.
Plus I drink many glasses of green tea every day.
I know that FDA is trying to regulate vitamins and supplements. I guess we are so stupid that we can't look up natural cures online so the Gubment has to step in to save ourselves from ourselves!!
Can we all say Weimar Republic?
The 4,000 abortions that will happen today are really really expensive.
Thanks for reminding me.
I have had one vacation the whole 14 years I have been married.
You can become Dr. GHUA when Ocare is in effect LOL!
I try not to do the "I was asleep at the wheel" thing to myself. I wasn't. I was a law abiding American doing "progressively" (ha I made a funny) more reporting and filing to run said business. If you are an appropriate "boss" (that would be we the people) you are supposed to "delegate" jobs and RESPONSIBLITY to those assigned them. Of course said boss had better step up and fire employees not doing their job.
The greatest weakness of Conservatism is our own desire to be left alone, and leave others alone. Because we want to leave others to live as they please while focusing on our own lives and freedoms, we tend to not overwatch what others are doing when we don't see a direct and immediate effect on our own lives as a result of what they do. We take more notice when gas prices rise, then we do of stealth legislation that erodes our freedoms one tiny piece at a time. Now, we are at the point where a cry has gone up, and gotten everyone's attention, and we look around wondering "How did we get to this point?" Well, we got here because of 100 years of keeping our noses to the grindstone, worrying about living our own lives, and staying blissfully unaware of the slow and steady creep of progressivism.
The challenge now, is not just to set this country back on it's intended course….. but to *remain* vigilant, now and ever more, to ensure that we aren't led to this point again because we didn't pay attention……
Seig Heil!
We both can just go into denial for a month! Let's go get drunk together, our husbands can be the designated drivers. Have you had Bottom's Up Pizza in Richmond? It's in Shockhoe Bottom. It's the best pizza I've ever had.
No….we have a local pizza place that the owners are brothers and we're helping them stay in business. Our whole area loves their pizza.
Here is some un-cheerful news for the Administration: http://www.cnbc.com/id/38768328
Uh-oh!
It looks like Recovery Summer is over and the bottom is falling out.
Imam Obumble just flushed it through the shitter.
Now even our children are mortgaged to the hilt to the point that they don't have much of a future to look forward too.
It was bad enough when we had to work until May to pay the piper. We are slaves and I refuse to live like this.
That was quite random.
But you're preaching to a pro-lifer.
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winna!
That's when you have to put your foot down and say heck with this….let a bill go on hold, and leave anyway.
After I saw the vacations blahblah had that we were paying for. We did just that…..we went up North. Sometimes you have to.
Yes…chilling…they've up the anti on this season…
Personally I would rather my tax money go to our Military ANY DAY, than to the seiu / acorn union THUGS!!!!
If you're so against the war…perhaps you should be cut off from some of those freedoms you enjoy on a day to day basis eh?
none of the above….
When it hits Dec 30th, I will be looking to leave the country. I hear China's economy is booming and they don't have debt… And, it's only slightly more sociaIist than the USA. (yes, a little sarcasm there)
Taking over GM… really expensive
NObamacare… really expensive
Bailouts… really expensive
Lost production and income from oil spill… really expensive
Bush is no hero. But at some point progressives need to take responsibility for the current state of affairs. Bush has been out of the office 18 months or so now. Is NObama really so weak that he cannot change Bush's policies after 18 months?
Using NObama's car in the ditch analogy… He talks about how the GOP was behind the wheel when the car went into the ditch… what he leaves out is how the progressives have been sabotaging the car leading up to the crash. Bush was not a skilled driver either though…
Since you vote dumbocrat you cannot lay claim to being "pro-life".
Public ownership of the means of production, where the means of production is actually human beings, not factories or dockyards, mines or quarries.
The Marxists know they can't actually say human beings are the means of production, and their goal is to own THEM, so they bring the point of analysis forward to distract. It's still working.
GREAT response.
Someone was laying the "pro-choice" argument on me the other day. They were making the claim that no one really can say where life begins. I agreed, "I know what you mean. When I was pregnant, I knew that ANY old crazy thing could just come shooting out of my womb at any time. Imagine my surprise when I had a real human baby!" She looked annoyed, but could not deny the point. Finally a way to shut the little girls up who say "it's not my business to tell other people what they can do with their bodies. They may not believe there is human life yet."
You need to go! It is good for the soul. On vacation-not out of the marriage. You can borrow a tent and camp almost free.
SERIOUSLY???? I only get (slightly over one fiscal quarter's worth of my annual earnings?
Whatever happened to March and April? This is about how I remember things from the Carter years.
I owe my soul to the company store.
This is hope AND change. They may have timed this for mid-term elections so that everyone will vote for big govt to save them, or small govt and they will try to blame on on the new congress. Then again, they aren't that smart.
I remember when you liberals used to pretend you were concerned by the war, and the lives of US soldiers. Now that they're dying in record numbers under this inept administration, you all cheer loudly. Ah the foul stench of false ideology. The sign you're near a liberal.
Good idea. If I buy a tent now, I will have a home for when the economy collapses and I have to go live in the Blue Ridge.
It's hard because the only one who can watch my children is my mom and we both help take care of my 32 year old bedridden sister. Plus my mom works full time.
Can we stay at your house LOL?! You can call it the GHUA Inn! Wow- I'm giving you a bunch of business ideas today.
The sad thing is, you are so brain washed that you don't understand that if we did most of what you sarcastically suggest, we WOULD be better off.
Let's look at your woefully uneducated second paragraph. Exactly who benefits more from infrastructure? I would say the poor since they use it as much if not more than the erst of us and pay absolutely NOTHING for it. You called it superior yourself so they get a superior product for free. So you would tax them more? Those making over $200,000 earn 21% of all revenue but pay 40+% of all taxes, so if they paid their "fair share" you would cut their tax rate in half, a good idea.
If we CUT tomorrow social insecurity, Medicaid and Medicare, people would then be FORCED to *GASP* fend for themselves. THE HORROR! They would have to *GASP* SAVE their money to pay for health care, take care of themselves and spend less money on cable TV and movies. THE HORROR! Someone ELSE should pay for them!! People would have to SAVE for retirement instead of buying beamers while we fund their retirement. THE HORROR!
You could cut back almost the ENTIRE gov't, and aside from the military, the private sector would some in and TEACH our kids (look at private school scores versus public), build the roads cheaper and more efficiently, run the mail (which has been handled by the private sector more efficiently in areas), etc. etc. etc.
See gov't doesn't have this little thing called competition. Businesses do. Have a crappy private school then parents send their kids to the good one and you go out of business. Have a crappy pubblic school? Then your kids are shipped there with no options, and no incentive to improve. No incentive for efficiency, etc. etc. etc. This can be said about ALL facets of gov't.
Sorry nim-rod, your faith in the gov't is WAY mispalced. This nation became great when the gov't was MUCH MUCH MUCH less involved, and let the privaste sector create and build REAL wealth for ALL. See, sinking ships so we all drown may make things "equal" but it's stupid yet the democrats main policy. We would rather EVERYONE have a boat and a chance to make or buy a bigger one rather than be petty and jealous of the guy with the lega yacht because one day we TOO could be him *GASP* See, your mindset is one of failure and that you will never be successful so it's okay to punish the successful because you'll never be one yourself. Loser is as loser does, loser.
I hate the word fetus too. My gosh, we feel our babies move at 14 weeks and hear the heart beating at 10 weeks.
There is a verse in Psalms that talks about God seeing a human soul even in the womb.
Psalm 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in they book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was non of them.
I think that whole chapter is one of my favorites in the Bible. Your response to that Pro-deather is too riddled with logic Red! LOL I'll bet her head was spinning around with all of your common sense. I'll never ever understand why a women would use abortion on demand as a means of birth control.
Dittos! Our military needs better health care than Tricare, that's for sure.
The current Imam Obama plan is to enslave America with debt so large all of America will be slaves.
The end of those evil white guy's country, peace be upon you, as everything you have belongs to big government bureaucrats.
What if they don't have money to save? Under Republicans, such as George Bush, their taxes were way to high and they received little to no benefit. Thats why we need to cut THEIR taxes and raise taxes for people who earn more.
I make WELL over $200,000 and I have no problem paying taxes to help people who are less fortunate out. Is it so wrong that they should be allowed to have some entertainment in their lives such as TV and movies? Or that they should be entitled to healthcare? That they should be able to retire when they are too old and unable to work so that younger people can actually find jobs? Is that wrong?
They're the laborers that create the products that I consume that perform many of the services that I take for granted and I'm thankful. Just because society has allowed them to be underpaid does not mean that their lives should be grotesque slavery. That ended in the late 1800's. It's time to be progressive and live in 2010.
The system you described is ironically parallel to a system that we worked to overcome at the beginning of the twentieth century when we overcame The Depression (with the intervention of THE GOVERNMENT, a LIBERAL DEMOCRAT, more specifically).
My guess is that you'd be indebted to one of a handful of wealthy capitalists if it weren't for the "socialistic" policies that you whine about on a daily basis. Just because you (I assume) are slightly better off than these people doesn't make you any better than they are. I think that's the underlying issue with you, you feel as though an economic advantage gives you a social superiority. That's incredibly twisted.
The proper way to look at this, is America, welcome to the Democrat's new slavery.
Wasn't there something in the Declaration of Independence about what to do when government becomes so overbearing? Something about duty?
Yeah as long as we have our "nukes" and our "guns" we'll be just fine, right? /sarcasm
Private schools cost money. Are you saying that people without money shouldn't have access to education whatsoever? There was a time when that happened in this country. It was a time in which an overwhelming majority of the population was [permanently] indebted to a handful of capitalists. Private schools are great but if nobody (or only some people) can afford them, then only some people get educated. We need a public option for those whom don't have the economic cushion to enroll their kids in a private school.
Build the roads cheaper? How do you suggest we do that? Do you mean use inferior quality supplies so that they wear out faster? Oh but wait- that wouldn't be efficient. That's a question that millions of people would like to have an answer to. How do we build the roads cheaper AND increase efficiency? There's only one way that I can think of: slave labor. Is that the solution you had in mind?
By the way the USPS (Post Office) has not been subsidized by the government for a number of years. We have already "cut" it, so to speak.
On that day, we will be Greece.
Hate to break it to you but public school's cost money too. A lot more money then private schools in fact. That's fine, let's just keep borrowing money from China, to pay for an obviously incompetent school system. I'm not saying get rid of public schools (although, it wouldn't be a bad idea). All we need to do is outlaw public unions, thereby increasing efficiency!!! See how simple that was.
You build roads cheaper by getting the government to actually competitively bid things (you know … like they're supposed to), instead of the "brother-in-law" BS that has been going on in this country for all infrastructure projects. Great way to race-bait though. It's such a tired tactic.
Oh and on the Post Office .. here you go http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Will-O...
From the article:
But now, GAO notes, the Post Office "is nearing its $15 billion borrowing limit with the U.S. Treasury and has unfunded pension and retiree health obligations and other liabilities of about $90 billion."
So yes it has been subsidized. Good try though.
The poor don't pay nothing–They pay payroll taxes, state income taxes, sales taxes, fees, and property taxes in many cases. In 2008, the top 1% earned 22.2% of all income, and paid 23.0% of all taxes. You may argue that's fair, but it's certainly not disproportionate, and I'm suggesting that if we do have a progressive (traditional definition, not pejorative) system of taxation (tax rates go higher based on income), then it needs to be more so.
If we cut Social Security, Medicare, etc., tomorrow, people wouldn't be forced to fend for themselves; they'd riot, and I'm sure you and your ilk would be at the front of the mob saying "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!"
Like I said, it's easy to throw metaphorical Molotov cocktails, and a lot harder to come up with reasonable, workable solutions. And look, no Caps Lock used!
Yes, schools and everything run privately costs money. We are not saying the money from cuts would be money sent straight to the banks. Money that is saved through cuts can be used to contract out these function the government is so woefully wasteful with. When companies have to bid get the contract, money is invariably saved, and (generally) the job is done better than the government could ever dream of.
And on the point of higher taxes. You make more than 200k. That is great. You dont mind paying more taxes to help out the poor, thats ok if you trust the government to do the right thing with your money. But here too is a place the private sector is more efficient than the federal government. There are these things called CHARITIES. People who have extra income and want to give back to the community can give their money to these charities and that money goes to help others. If your a religious person, helping out the poor gets even easier. Most churches have some discretionary funds to give members of their congregation in need. I guess what Im driving at is that its PEOPLE'S job to take care of PEOPLE, not the government's.
As for your point about the USPS. True, it has not been subsidized by the government for a while, but it also is allowed to monopolize the market. Businesses like UPS and FedEx are only allowed to exist due to a loophole. Give the USPS some real competition, and I guarantee the costs associated with the mail will drop.
Before you assume Im some punk that makes a bit of money so I feel like I can be a jerk, I dont. I work hard to scrape up $18k a year and support my family of 4. Im working my way through college and supporting a family. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get the things you want. Sometimes you have to give things up to better your life.
Sucks for you. Maybe if you were in a union, you'd be guaranteed like five or six weeks of paid vacation and a good salary to be able to afford one.
Or perhaps you don't like vacations, which is fine. But that doesn't mean much. He is entitled to vacation just as much as George Bush is. Remember how much vacation that man took? For what? To "clear brush" on his farm that didn't produce crops?
He sold that farm the day he left office, by the way. Talk about a sham.
Then move to another country where you won't have access to the freedoms and equality here nor the protected, public commodities that you take for granted THAT YOUR TAXES PAY FOR.
How about the government cuts taxes so I can afford to take one. Abolish all commie unions. They don't work because they are broke and leeching off the taxpayers.
I tell ya what. If I work for a union, I demand that my dues be given to the Republicans and not the Dems.
But that's OK. I will spend ETERNITY with my God and my Savior and I look forward to that. The Bible says that I will have eternal rest and that's priceless and not something I have to beg a union for.
Well if we can spend money on killing people, we should be able to spend a small fraction of that money to help them.
I'm a big fan of classical Russian Literature and 'serf' has a nice ring to it. 'Slave" is just too divisive.
How? Nope.
http://i50.tinypic.com/25tao0m.jpg
You have the right to pay any amount of the money you have earned to the government. You can even specify that amount of money to be used on what ever program you see fit.
The point is, not to force others to pay their "fair share" when it is not. A Fair Tax is a better solution. People with more money tend to buy more stuff and more expensive stuff, which leads to more money to the government than people who don't have as much money.
The alternative (not taking the fight to the savages) would have been a hell of a lot more expensive. And not just in dollars, but American lives and the way in which we live those lives. A little lesson for you Kontora "Pacifism never solved anything". Learn it, live it, love it and you'll understand the "need" for wars.
Think about why we're buying money from other countries when you park your Toyota at Wal-Mart.
The government does bid competitively. I don't think "brother-in-law" bidding is any less common in the government than it is in private corporations. Also, heaven forbid we even try to spend money in infrastructure, the conservatives shoot it down every time. The only approved subject of spending, according to conservatives, is war.
The Post Office is not SUBSADIZED. It borrows money from the US Treasury, true. That's a loan, however. It is not a subsidization.
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