Cost of Government Day
by Daniel Clifton

July 12, 2006 is 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 spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels.

COGD increased by 1.4 days above last year and is up nearly 12 days since 2000. It is unprecedented in history that the cost of government continually increases during a strong economic expansion and is reason for concern.

A report by Americans for Tax Reform details the cost of federal spending, state and local spending, and federal and state regulations. Additionally the report calculates the cost of state spending as a percentage of each state's economy, state tax increases over the past six fiscal years, and a calendar date of the year for each individual state's total cost of government.

You can read the report at: http://www.atr.org/content/pdf/2006/July/071206ot-costofgovernmentday.pdf

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