Maryland taxpayers awoke to a distressing recognition today: Maryland has the fourth  to last Cost of Government Day in the nation.  Cost of Government Day is a measure of the size and burden of government, and is calculated using measures of both spending and regulatory burdens; Maryland’s Cost of Government Day is September 4th—the first time that it has ever fallen as late as September.

The national date falls on August 19th, meaning that Marylanders have to work an additional 16 days to pay off their share of the burden of government.  To put that in perspective, the enormous federal government imposes 16 days-worth less burden than Maryland’s government.

The 2010 Cost of Government Day Report also details how this expansion of government is funded.  Since 2003, Marylanders have been the unfortunate recipients of new taxes to the tune of $2.1 billion—an increase of $357.39 per person. As Maryland continues to spend and push to raise taxes on alcohol, Maryland taxpayers are left with one of the latest cost of government days in the nation.

To view ATR & CFA's full press release, click here

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Our friends at the Independent Institute launched a website Tuesday that calculates taxpayers’ personal cost of government in terms of the taxes that they will be required to pay given the federal spending burden. According to the Independent Institute, the Government Cost Calculator estimates that the current U.S. national debt of $13.4 trillion will reach $23 trillion by the year 2019.  Federal spending will top $3.5 trillion with $1.4 trillion of that spending financed by debt just this year alone. That is why they offer a service on their website that calculates how much you will pay for various federal programs now and over the course of a lifetime. It then compares those tax payments to the forgone earnings that would have been possible if such funds were kept and invested in private market accounts. Lastly, allows you to see the difference between government expenses and your tax payments, showing what the future of your financial burden.

However, the tax burden really only illustrates part of the story: The Center for Fiscal Accountability authors a report on the Cost of Government which looks at the total imposition of government on the economy, and calculates what the total spending and regulatory burden is on taxpayers at the local, state and federal levels. MyGovCost.Com does calculate the gap between taxes paid and federal spending, illustrating that taxes can only finance a part of the ballooning size of government. The calculator certainly paints a bleak picture – unfortunately, it only gets worse: as shown in the Cost of Government Day report, government ate up far more than the tax burden imposed on Americans in 2010; it required 63 percent of national income to sustain itself. COGD fell on August 19 in 2010 and some states, such as Connecticut, have to work as late as September 17 to pay off their cost of government. The Independence Institute’s new site is an awesome tool for taxpayers to understand the tax burden as a consequence of government spending. Be sure to check out the COGD report after calculating your cost of government to get the full picture on the extraordinary burden of government!

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After discussions over the summer on the need for greater transparency in Indiana, the state has finally launched a state spending portal which provides taxpayers with facts and figures on state government revenue, spending and salaries. The site, which went live yesterday, accessible at transparency.in.gov, features charts of state spending with links to budget documents and also provides the sources from where Indiana gets its revenue, details how the state has used federal stimulus funds and links to all state contracts. With a click of a mouse, Indiana taxpayers can also see how much money any state employee earns. By the end of the year the state Auditor, Tim Berry,  expects the site to post annual financial reports from all local governments and allow users to search all expenses by state agency. Barry also dialed in on why transparency is so important:

It's vital for government to be transparent and accountable because it isn't the state's money, it is taxpayer money, and Hoosiers deserve to have the best tools available to know how their dollars are being spent."

While we look forward to more detail and greater access to state spending for Indiana taxpayers, we applaud the state for taking this important step forward in spending transparency. We hope all state expenses are online soon so Hoosiers can track, dollar for dollar, where their tax dollars are going.

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With all the wasteful spending and state tax increases, think tank-sponsored transparency websites are sprouting up nationwide. Maine Heritage Foundation launched a portal in September 2008 which shed light on Maine expenditures and now includes payroll data. In the same vein, the Rio Grande Foundation launched a website this week to bring accountability and transparency to the taxpayers of New Mexico. Newmexicospending.com provides information on payroll and other spending information for the state's largest school districts for the last couple years: Artesia, Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis, Farmington, Hobbs, Rio Rancho, Roswell and Santa Fe.

While New Mexico has yet to have a state site for full transparency, they have launched a contracts database website, which provides taxpayers with a searchable database for contracts in excess of $20,000 entered with the State of New Mexico. In March 2010, the Governor of New Mexico also signed the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act, introduced by Sen. Rue, which provides for the creation and maintenance of a web-based information portal that provides public access to state government budgets, expenditures, revenue, and other information. The website will be launched no later than July 1, 2011. We applaud the Rio Grande Foundation’s efforts and hope their portal informs and encourages a helpful and productive state transparency portal.

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Massachusetts Cost of Government Day is today, August 27.  Cost of Government Day is the day when the average citizen has earned enough gross income to pay for their share of the fiscal and regulatory burden of government.  Massachusetts’ government is so large that residents only have 129 days to work for themselves.  National Cost of Government Day fell on August 19th this year, meaning that citizens of Massachusetts had to work for 8 days longer than the average American to pay for their government. 

This large government is paid for by tax increases: in the last eight years, Bay Staters have received $10.85 billion in new taxes.  That is, each citizen has had to pay a whopping $1632.29 in new taxes since 2003.

To view ATR & CFA's full press release, click here

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