an effort to create searchable online databases for government expenditures
a tool to highlight the hypocrisy of tax hikers
Constitutional or statutory requirement to rein in growth of revenues end expenditures
a commitment made by elected officials and candidates for elected office never to raise taxes
Raising the bar for tax increases
Requiring a cool-off period for all bills with a fiscal impact
pork-barrel spending - the broken windows of the budget
As things are getting more and more tense in Pennsylvania, and Gov. Ed Rendell fantasizes about gassing lawmakers that are refusing to go along with his plans to raise taxes, Cost of Government Day arrives for Pennsylvania taxpayers as yet another reminder just how out of hand things have gotten in the Keystone State.
And things are indeed grim:
Pennsylvania’s Cost of Government Day (the day when the average worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed at all levels of government) falls two days later than the national date, which was August 12. And that national date, is the latest it has ever been since we began running the numbers (since 1977 that is).
What this means is that while the average American worker has to work an outrageous 224 days just to meet all burdens imposed by government, Pennsylvania taxpayers have to work another two days longer.
Get the full report here.
Unfortunately, tax and spend lawmakers and the governor have not gotten the memo, and they’re planning their next tax increase that will only make things worse. How many tea parties will it take for them to wake up?
(Photo by Scott Baldwin)
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