Happy Independence Day

Today we celebrate our country's independence from Great Britain in 1776, for "repeated injuries and usurpations of the Americans' rights and liberties," which are outlined in the Declaration of Independence and include complaints of unreasonable taxation and unnecessary regulation of international trade.

Each year, the policy group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) calculates the "Cost of Government Day," which is the date of the calendar year, counting from January 1, on which the average American has earned enough in cumulative gross income to pay for his or her share of government spending (total federal, state, and local) plus the cost of regulation.

According to ATR, "The Cost of Government Day (COGD) for 2006 is July 12th, a one day increase from 2005 (see chart above, COGD is not yet available for 2007). With July 12th as the COGD, working people must toil on average 192.5 days out of the year just to meet all the costs imposed by government. In other words, the cost of government consumes 52.7 percent of national income."

Bottom Line: Isn't it sobering and ironic that we celebrate our freedom from King George III on July 4, which is more than a full week before we're free from Uncle Sam? Go ahead and see some fireworks here and forget about taxes and Uncle Sam.