Cost of Government Day Arrived - August 19, 2010!

Every year, the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and the Center for Fiscal Accountability calculate Cost of Government Day. This is the day on which the average American has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government at the federal, state, and local levels.

In 2010, Cost of Government Day falls on August 19.  Working people must toil 231 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government - 8 days later than last year and a full 32 days longer than 2008.

In other words, in 2010 the cost of government consumes 63.41 percent of national income. 

To read the report on your computer, and to view additional resources, including a chart room, media coverage, as well as last year's report click on the index below.

For a pdf of the full report, click here.

 

2010 Report

• About the Author/The Thomas Jefferson Fellowship
• A Message from Grover Norquist and CFA Executive Director Mattie Corrao
• Overview of Results
• Cost of Government Day Components
• State by State Breakdown
• The Government Spending Burden
• State Tax Increases
• Government Employees
• The Regulatory Burden
• Interstate Migration
• Toward an Earlier Cost of Government Day

Case Studies

• Follow-up: The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
• Obamacare
• Financial Regulatory Reform
• Refundable Tax Credits
• Renewable Electricity Standards

Methodology
Chart Room
Media Coverage

2009 Report