Happy Cost of Government Day - August 12

The True cost of Government.
Just focusing on the 15.5 trillion dollar deficit does not tell the whole story about what we all pay for our massive government. Adding on the interest to this debt still does not address the whole picture.

Attached to every product and service we buy- is the built in cost of regulations and taxes from the federal, state and local governments.

To more accurately measure the true cost of government, ATRF has calculated a Cost of Government Day. We determine this each year by adding the cost of government spending at all levels to a conservative estimate of all regulatory burdens—and then counting how many days of the year Americans work to pay the costs of government.

And while federal spending has jumped to $3.8 trillion in 2011 from $2.9 trillion in 2008—a 31% increase—that does not include state and local spending, which is estimated to total $1.6 trillion in 2011.

The total cost of regulatory compliance is estimated to be $1.8 trillion this year.

Looking at the total cost of government rather than merely the annual deficit gives a more complete picture—and a more frightening understanding—of how much government costs each one of us. It also suggests how clever politicians can hide the cost of government, disguising increased spending by urging us to focus on the deficit and then "paying for" higher spending with higher taxes. Government grows but the deficit is unchanged.

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.

AUGUST 12 !!!

Read the entire article here;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904007304576498683254344262.html

And we wonder why our economy can no longer create even the minimum number of jobs we need to just stay even, much less get 30 million unemployed Americans back to work.
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So Happy Cost of Government Day everyone! (about 2 weeks late).

Wait... you don't calculate this on your own?

I try to figure out my tax burden each year, and then determine how long it will actually take me to fulfill the obligation to the government, and at what point I'll actually start earning money for myself again.

I'm convinced if we gave everyone their total tax bill, as an actual bill, at the end of each year, there would be revolts.

Which is precisely why they hide the total taxes you are paying from you through such clever artifices as including the taxes on fuel in the total cost of the fuel and having the station owner collect and forward the money. It is why they take your income taxes out of the money you receive from your employer and why they withhold more in state and federal income taxes than you will owe so that you will be grateful for the refund check that you receive after filing your tax forms. It is why they collect half of the total privilege taxes from the employer. It is why they collect income taxes from all the companies you do business with. All of these are employed simply to keep you in the dark as to the amount of money you are paying to the various levels of government.

I don't think it should be an annual bill, that would only guarantee that most of us were guilty of a felony offense when it didn't get paid. No, I would think quarterly or monthly would be a better plan. Both in keeping the tax bill from becoming so large that the default rate would be too large and also to serve as a constant reminder of just how much of the fruits of your labor they have decided they are entitled to take from you and spend.

Wait... you don't calculate this on your own?

No actually- I always knew that the cost of government was much higher than just income taxes, I knew that car license fees and building permit fees and even parking meter fees are also just really taxes - and I knew that virtually product and service I use also have a good percentage of taxes built into the cost.

We all pay 20.5 cents (colorado) and 18.4 cents (federal) more for gasoline for instance, directly to taxes, but there is much more tax than that built into the cost of gas. Think of all the taxes that the truck used to transport the gas to the station paid- tire taxes, diesel tax, drivers license tax, etc. Then add in the cost of all the regulations that the refinery had to pay for, all the EPA regulations etc.

And that's just gas for my subaru. Every single product, food, equipment, service has regulations associated with it - in addition to the taxes the government hits us all with along the production chain.

I dont have the resources or time to quantify all the costs associated with government. I'm glad someone else did have the time, because it should be a wakeup call for every citizen. This government is adding more regulations.

If every penny we earn from Jan1 through August 12 goes to the government, they are taking more than 66% of our wealth.

Anyone still wondering why the working guy can't make a living anymore? Still wonder why the middle class is shrinking, and our standard of living dropping?

It's not a mystery to me.

But they are providing you so much.

Now you have safe water to drink.
Fuel safe to put in your tank.

The FDA is always sure to recall bad food products but only after they have been eaten, etc.