Today is Cost of Government Day

“On July 16, Americans mark the national Cost of Government Day, the date on the calendar year when the average American finishes paying off his or her share of federal, state and local spending, and the regulatory burden. Cost of Government Day falling on July 16 means that you had to work 197 days out of the year just to meet all the costs imposed by government. In other words, the total cost of government — far more than taxation alone — consumes 53.9 percent of national income.”
Source: Americans for Tax Reform

Oregonians are lucky. Partially because the average Oregonian’s income is below that of the average American, our Cost of Government Day fell on July 9th. Just think; if our elected state leaders succeed in passing even more wealth destroying laws, our Cost of Government Day may fall even earlier in future years. Truly, a double edged sword.

Founder and Senior Policy Analyst at Cascade Policy Institute, Steve Buckstein is Director of Cascade’s Government Transparency Project and the Oregon Economic Opportunity Project. Based in Portland, Cascade Policy Institute is Oregon’s free market research center.