Tomorrow, August 12, will be a wonderful day. Based on calculations from Americans for Tax Reform, we will have finally worked long enough to finance the total cost of government for 2011. This means the money we earn for the rest of the year will be for the benefit of our families – rather than for the clowns in Washington.
Of course, we actually pay for excessive government throughout the entire year, in the form of tax withholding, slower growth, diminished wages, and misallocated resources, but ATR’s “Cost of Government Day” is a helpful way of monitoring the total burden of taxes, spending, regulation, and intervention.
And the Cost of Government Day data also allows us to see whether the burden of government is rising or falling. Not surprisingly, the Bush-Obama years have been very bad news for the American people. As you can see in the chart, we now work an extra 40-plus days to support the parasite class in DC.
I have not dug into the numbers and reviewed the methodology, so it’s possible that I might do things differently, but it certainly looks like ATR has been very honest and straightforward. As I mentioned in a previous post, any estimate that shows more freedom and/or less government during the Bush years must be flawed – perhaps deliberately.
But the ATR numbers correctly show a rising cost of government during the Bush years. And they show a falling burden of government during the Clinton years.
So kudos to ATR for a good and honest report.
I am by no means an Obama apologist — and the ATR numbers may be accurate — but that particular chart is a bit misleading. Because the bottom of the columns represents late June rather than Jan 1, it appears the “cost of government” more than doubled within Obama’s first year.
That we contribute 60% of our efforts to the government is a clear indication that we are no longer on the road… we are now, in fact, surfs.
Here are the solutions the majority of Americans want to see enacted, starting in October 2011:
Tax withholding – The middle class is now being taxed at a higher % of their income than the wealthy or multinational corporations. “…two-thirds of the public say an agreement to raise the debt limit should include tax hikes for wealthy Americans and corporations.”
Slower growth – caused by austerity measures that cut back on social services, when proven fiscal stimulus should be greatly expanded. “Two-thirds of Americans surveyed backed additional spending on infrastructure and six of 10 support more spending on alternative energy to stimulate job growth. A tax credit for businesses that hire new workers also gains backing from 7 of 10 Americans”
Diminished wages – “Polls show that even in the current economy voters support raising the minimum wage by a three-to-one margin.
61% of the public would oppose a move in their state to pass a bill that would take away some of the collective bargaining rights of union government workers.”
“…53% of Americans would also oppose a move to reduce pay and benefits the state provides for government workers to reduce the budget deficit.”
All quotes from:
october2011 dot org
Continued
Misallocated resources – “51% of Americans support reducing “defense” spending, and only 28% want to cut Medicare and Medicaid health programs for the elderly and poor and only 18% back cuts in Social Security. Americans favored more rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan by 75% to 25%. six out of 10 American Democrats, Republicans, and independents think the US should not be involved in the unpopular war on Libya.”
“…an overwhelming majority of Americans – 74% – support “eliminating tax credits for the oil and gas industries.”
“…the most popular potential spending cuts were subsidies to build new nuclear plants, with 57% support.”
“…by a ratio of more than two to one, Americans said that creating jobs should be a higher priority than spending cuts.”
“…75% of Americans – including 65% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats and 76% of Independents – would support a five-year moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the United States if there was stepped-up investment in clean, safe renewable energy – such as wind and solar – and improved home energy-efficiency standards.”
“…63% believe investing in renewable energy sources is a better long-term investment for America than investing in fossil fuels. ”
“Even in the heavily propagandized and often misreported issue of climate change, 54% say it is a major problem.”
“…57% of Americans agreed with the statement: It doesn’t matter if there is or isn’t climate change. It is still in America’s best interest to develop new sources of energy that are clean, reliable, efficient and safe.”
“…78% of people are in favor of a single-payer Medicare for all system”
“…80 percent of Americans oppose the [Citizens United] ruling.”
“…by 62% to 31% Americans favor legislation to set up a publicly-financed campaign system.”
All quotes from:
October2011 dot org (Click my name for the direct link)
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[...] Mitchell’s wondering how we’ll celebrate: Tomorrow (actually today now ~ed), August 12, will be (is ~ed) a wonderful day. Based on [...]