Happy Cost of Government Day: August 12; You Will Be "Government-Free" Starting Tomorrow

Americans for Tax Reform 

"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 the spending and regulatory burden imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels.

Cost of Government Day for 2011 is today, Friday August 12. 

On average, workers must toil 224 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government.

In other words, the cost of government consumes 61.42% of national income.

Since he took office, President Obama's administration has pushed the day all the way forward to August 12. Americans are now working 27 more days per year to pay for government spending and regulations than on the day Mr. Obama became president.

40.9% of the Cost of Your Thanksgiving Dinner is Brought to You Courtesy of the Government

Courtesy of the Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost for a Thanksgiving feast for ten lies at $42.91 in 2009. The menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner used for their survey include turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk.

Of that, of course, the turkey is the largest cost factor at an average price of $18.65 for a 16-pound bird.

Because Thanksgiving is a celebration, for our calculations, we also factored in five bottles of wine at an average price of $7.35, which brings the total cost of the average Thanksgiving feast to $79.67.

But not all of that reflects the actual cost of your meal – a large chunk of it is taken by the government in some form or another:

On top of the direct excise taxes on the wine, there are taxes paid by the farmers, winemakers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and shippers, retailers, warehouses.

To be more specific, out of what the consumer pays, the producers and sellers must pay federal income taxes, state income taxes, federal payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workmen’s compensation taxes, state franchise taxes, local property taxes and any local income taxes.

All told, for a Thanksgiving feast for a family of ten, the government takes a bite of 40.9%, or $32.59.

And that is only if your family does not have to drive or fly to get to the Thanksgiving party, or stay at a hotel for the duration of the festivities, as domestic airfare, gasoline, and hotel stays have their own “tax bites” which are even higher than the bite the government takes out of your Thanksgiving meal.

http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/point-percent-cost-thanksgiving-dinner-brought-a1039#

http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/tax-bites