| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"T James" |
| Date: |
19 Jul 2003 10:29:16 AM |
| Object: |
"Cost of Government Day": Tax Slavery Reaches New Level |
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
by James W. Harris
"Cost of Government Day": Tax Slavery Reaches New Level
July 11 was this year's "Cost of Government Day." That's the date in the
calendar year when the average American worker has finally earned enough
money to pay off his or her share of the tax and regulatory burdens
imposed by government at all levels.
Yes, until July 11 you've been working to feed the government. Now you can
start working for yourself.
Think that's bad news? It gets worse. This year, Cost of Government Day
came a *lot* later than in the past.
Each year, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) releases a report which details
the total cost of government to American taxpayers -- and calculates the
date when the average American is finally done paying for those costs.
This year, Cost of Government Day comes a startling four and a half days
later than last year -- the worst since 1993.
Now Americans must work on average 193 days out of the year just to meet
all the costs imposed by government.
Americans will work 87 days to cover the cost of federal spending, 43 days
to cover state and local spending, 39 days to shoulder the cost of federal
regulation, and 24 days to pay for state regulation.
That's over four months (of five-day work weeks) to pay for government
spending, and another two months to cover the burden of regulation.
Another way of looking at it: the average worker now puts in about 4.5
hours of each day to pay for government, and only 3.5 hours to earn money
for himself.
To put it still another way: the cost of government now consumes nearly 53
percent of national income.
Here's ATR's short and not-so-sweet summary:
* Total Cost of Government: $4.96 Trillion
* Per Person Cost of Government: $17,017
* Number Of Days Worked to Pay for Gov’t: 193
Components:
* Total Government Spending: $3.34 Trillion
* Total Government Regulation: $1.62 Trillion
* Federal Cost of Government: $3.23 Trillion
* State/Local Cost of Government: $1.73 Trillion
Cost of Government Change 2000-2003: 9.7% Increase
* Federal Spending: 12.4% Increase
* State/Local Spending: 6.6% Increase
* Federal Regulations: 8.4% Increase
* State Regulations: 8.5% Increase
ATR points out that the cost of government has increased by nearly 10
percent since calendar year 2000, and government spending is mushrooming
under the Bush administration.
In fact, this year is the third year in a row that Cost of Government Day
has arrived later than the year before. The average American worker needed
17 additional days this year to pay for the cost of government than a
worker did in 2000.
Ironically, Cost of Government Day *declined* during the Clinton era for
eight straight years, 1992-2000.
But the increases of the past three years have nearly wiped out all the
cost-declines achieved since 1992.
The growth in the cost of government has been driven largely by enormous
increases in federal spending. Nearly 60 percent of the total
cost-of-government increase since 2000 is due to the rise in federal
spending.
In fact, more than 3 additional days were needed this year alone to pay
for increases in federal spending -- 10 additional days since 2000.
While some of the costs are war-related, war and "homeland security"
spending are only partly to blame. Federal and state domestic spending and
regulation -- supported by both Democrats and Republicans -- have both
increased tremendously and continue to rise.
And don't expect the politicians to stop spending your money at
ever-higher rates. As Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy for the
free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy, puts it: "Next year the
trend in federal spending growth is not expected to improve. Recent
Congressional approval of a Medicare prescription drug entitlement is
expected to cost taxpayers $400 billion over the next 10 years. This is a
dark and portentous policy cloud that may explode into a thunderstorm of
new federal spending. After all, government social programs do not have a
history of costing less than advertised."
Ed Crane, president of the libertarian Cato Institute, summed it up nicely
in the conservative magazine Human Events: "[I]n 2000, we elected a
president who has yet to criticize a single government program and
believes you can solve problems by throwing money at them."
At this rate, how long before "Cost of Government Day" ends on… December
31st?
(Source: Americans for Tax Reform (ATR):
http://www.atr.org/
Mackinac Center for Public Policy:
http://www.mackinac.org/5537
Human Events:
http://207.36.16.170/article.php?id=1209
* * *
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| User: "Dad" |
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| Title: Re: "Cost of Government Day": Tax Slavery Reaches New Level |
19 Jul 2003 12:03:46 PM |
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"T James" <litehouse1776@yahoo.com.INVALID> wrote in message
news:gtdSa.20327$vx3.5712346@kent.svc.tds.net...
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, UNBELIEVABLE NEWS
by James W. Harris
"Cost of Government Day": Tax Slavery Reaches New Level
July 11 was this year's "Cost of Government Day." That's the date in the
calendar year when the average American worker has finally earned enough
money to pay off his or her share of the tax and regulatory burdens
imposed by government at all levels.
Yes, until July 11 you've been working to feed the government. Now you can
start working for yourself.
Think that's bad news? It gets worse. This year, Cost of Government Day
came a *lot* later than in the past.
Each year, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) releases a report which details
the total cost of government to American taxpayers -- and calculates the
date when the average American is finally done paying for those costs.
This year, Cost of Government Day comes a startling four and a half days
later than last year -- the worst since 1993.
Now Americans must work on average 193 days out of the year just to meet
all the costs imposed by government.
Boy what screwed up math, must work for the government. 193 work days puts
you in the 3 week of Sept. by his definition of a 5 day work week.
Sorry for following his crosspost, but I can be a jerk sometimes.
--
Dad
One more gun is just enough, maybe.
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| User: "Bob LeChevalier" |
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| Title: Re: "Cost of Government Day": Tax Slavery Reaches New Level |
19 Jul 2003 12:36:05 PM |
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litehouse1776@yahoo.com.INVALID (T James) wrote:
ATR points out that the cost of government has increased by nearly 10
percent since calendar year 2000, and government spending is mushrooming
under the Bush administration.
In fact, this year is the third year in a row that Cost of Government Day
has arrived later than the year before. The average American worker needed
17 additional days this year to pay for the cost of government than a
worker did in 2000.
Ironically, Cost of Government Day *declined* during the Clinton era for
eight straight years, 1992-2000.
So much for the virtues of the Bush tax cuts.
Ed Crane, president of the libertarian Cato Institute, summed it up nicely
in the conservative magazine Human Events: "[I]n 2000, we elected a
president who has yet to criticize a single government program and
believes you can solve problems by throwing money at them."
I love it when conservatives attack the Bush man. They get what they
asked for.
lojbab
--
lojbab
Bob LeChevalier, Founder, The Logical Language Group
(Opinions are my own; I do not speak for the organization.)
Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: http://www.lojban.org
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