Happy Cost of Government Day!

Katherine Mangu-Ward | July 16, 2008

As the good people at Americans for Tax Reform are quick to remind me, today 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 spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels."

So treat yourself to a beer—or your drug of choice—tonight (perhaps at the reason happy hour). You deserve it. And when you think about all the terrible days you have had at work already this year laboring in the service of Uncle Sam, you might need to have another.

Comments

|7.16.08 @ 12:46PM|#

*hangs head, walks slowly, to "Christmas Time is Here"*

TallDave|7.16.08 @ 12:48PM|#

I think mine is sometime around Dec 12th.

TallDave|7.16.08 @ 12:50PM|#

Todd: Daddy, what are taxes paying for?

Ned: Ohoho... everything! Policemen, trees, sunshine, and let's not forget the folks who just don't feel like working, God bless 'em!

Episiarch|7.16.08 @ 12:52PM|#

I. Want. One.

A valid opium/coke tax stamp, that is.

|7.16.08 @ 12:52PM|#

Odd picture choice. For Pete's sake, Katherine, wouldn't you welcome an opium/cocoa leaves stamp tax with open arms and trumpets blaring?

Bearded Beavis|7.16.08 @ 12:55PM|#

That sucks.

|7.16.08 @ 12:55PM|#

Living in New York State, I believe mine isn't until February of '09

|7.16.08 @ 12:57PM|#

This is a little misleading. We're only actually responsible for a portion of those government expenses. We put the rest on our credit card, and our kids will have to pay it off, with interest.

No Name Guy|7.16.08 @ 12:57PM|#

How many days does one have to work until his/her share of the Iraq War is paid off?

Elemenope|7.16.08 @ 1:00PM|#

If they had raised taxes just a *teensy* bit more, this holiday would fall on my birthday.

Damn.

Dagny T.|7.16.08 @ 1:01PM|#

Reinmoose,

My condolences. I've done NY state tax returns and that shit ain't pretty. The joke around my Washington (no state income tax) State tax office is to refer to the People's State of New York.

Elemenope|7.16.08 @ 1:01PM|#

I. Want. One.

A valid opium/coke tax stamp, that is.

Fucking word. Though I'd rather go in for one of them Marijuana tax stamps.

Naga Sadow|7.16.08 @ 1:01PM|#

Once again being a bartender pays off. Thanks for paying my share suckers!!! Seriously however, does that tax stamp say 1951?

Paul|7.16.08 @ 1:01PM|#

We put the rest on our credit card, and our kids will have to pay it off, with interest.

Speak for yourself.

Naga Sadow|7.16.08 @ 1:07PM|#

Anyone know what share of a dollar we pay in taxes? Federal, state, and local, I mean. I've got three conflicting websites here. One says 51 cents of every dollar, another that says 57 cents of every dollar, and what appears to be the federal governments claiming we pay 35 cents of every dollar.

Elemenope|7.16.08 @ 1:10PM|#

Naga Sadow --

I think that would depend heavily on what state and locality you lived in, wouldn't it?

Eleutherian|7.16.08 @ 1:16PM|#

"How many days does one have to work until his/her share of the Iraq War is paid off?"


This question was raised at the Cost of Government Day press conference today..

Answer: about 4 days (based on this year's spending)

Naga Sadow|7.16.08 @ 1:18PM|#

Elemenope,

I closed all the links but I believe that it was on average. Some are higher, some are lower, yada, yada, yada, that kind of B.S.

Elemenope|7.16.08 @ 1:28PM|#

Naga Sadow --

Point. But that doesn't seem very useful.

Maybe I'm missing something.

Rhywun|7.16.08 @ 2:19PM|#

The joke around my Washington (no state income tax) State tax office is to refer to the People's State of New York.

Of course if you factor in local taxes such as property tax, there ain't that much of a difference.

|7.16.08 @ 2:46PM|#

This shit makes me want to go to the nearest gun store and spend about fifteen thousand dollars. Too bad the government ate all my money, I guess.

jmd|7.16.08 @ 2:56PM|#

can someone explain the calculation, please. i'd like to understand why cost of govt day and tax freedom day are so far apart.

M2|7.16.08 @ 3:12PM|#

"So treat yourself to a beer"

And give them more tax dollars???

robc|7.16.08 @ 3:31PM|#

i'd like to understand why cost of govt day and tax freedom day are so far apart.

As a complete WAG, made cost of govt day is calculated off government expenses and tax freedom day is calculated off of government "revenue"?

|7.16.08 @ 4:18PM|#

If they had raised taxes just a *teensy* bit more, this holiday would fall on my birthday.

Give it time, Elemenope. Give it time.

Of course if you factor in local taxes such as property tax, there ain't that much of a difference.

No kidding. When I moved from "tax hell" Wisconsin to income-tax-free Texas, I thought I'd come out ahead. Then I saw my property tax bill in Dallas. I think I actually blacked out. Turned out my property taxes in Dallas just about equaled my property taxes plus my income tax in Wisconsin.

|7.16.08 @ 4:59PM|#

I remember when cost of government day hadn't yet crossed the 1/2 year threshold. How far we have fallen since that time.

I second the cannabis tax stamp. I can haz tax stamp, plz? At least I would get some real enjoyment out of paying a tax, rather than just seeing it dropped in the form of bombs on brown people.

|7.16.08 @ 7:54PM|#

Pimps don't pay taxes.