Americans for Tax Reform released their study on “Cost of Government Day.” This study looks at for an average individual in each state, how long you are working for the Government rather than yourself. On average, you’re working for the government until August 12th. That’s actually down two days from last year.
Unfortunately, not all states are created equal. Here are the bottom ten:
40. Massachusetts (August 15th)
40. Pennsylvania (August 15th)
42. Illinois (August 17th)
43. California (August 18th)
43. Minnesota (August 18th)
43. Washington (August 18th)
43. Wisconsin (August 18th)
District of Columbia (August 18th)
47. Maryland (August 20th)
48. New York (August 30th)
49. New Jersey (September 6th)
50. Connecticut (September 10th)
However, there are some states which don’t tax you as much:
1. Mississippi (July 19th)
2. Tennessee (July 20th)
3. South Carolina (July 23rd)
4. Louisiana (July 26th)
4. New Mexico (July 26th)
4. South Dakota (July 26th)
4. West Virginia (July 26th)
8. Alabama (July 29th)
8. Arizona (July 29th)
8. Kentucky (July 29th)
8. Nevada (July 29th)
8. Oklahoma (July 29th)
The end of the Executive Summary notes something that needs to be taken to heart by Congresscritters and state legislators:
Barriers to an earlier COGD remain. As of this writing, a deal to raise the debt limit in exchange for significant spending reform has not been reached. As the country exhausts its nearly $15 trillion in borrowing authority, the evolving debt debate represents an unprecedented opportunity to shift the paradigm of government spending. If it fails to do so, the forecast for future Cost of Government Days looks bleak.