Cost of Government Day (COGD)
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Title: Who are you working for?

Date: July 20, 2003

Source: Paul M. Weyrich, Free Congress Foundation

Words: 704

Who is your employer? Are you in management? Public policy? A talk show
host? A journalist? In medicine? Retail sales? Construction? Transportation?
Academia? Law enforcement? A bureaucrat?

No doubt you have thought of yourself as working to support yourself or your
family if you have one. Perhaps in these tough economic times you count
yourself as rather fortunate at being employed.

Well, I have news for you. All this time you have been working for
government. Each year Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) puts out information on
the cost of government both in terms of taxes and also unnecessary
regulations.

This year ATR calculated that no matter who you are, if you are employed
fulltime, you have worked for government 192.5 out of 365 days of the year.
That can't be right, you may be thinking to yourself.

Well, here is how it breaks down. Federal spending amounts to 87 days. Of
course this includes defense spending mandated by the Constitution. True
enough, but half of what is in that defense bill could be done without and
our enemies would not know the difference. Much of the rest our Founding
Fathers would be terribly shocked to find in the federal budget. Unnecessary
Federal regulations costs you another 38.6 days of working for the
government. By the way, state regulations cost you yet another 24.1 days.
And finally, state and local government spending adds on another 42.8 days.

These are averages. There are poor folks in New York City whose numbers are
even worse.

Get this. Just since 2000, Americans have to work 10 additional days a year
just to pay for federal spending. Is this what voters elected a Republican
president and a Republican Congress to accomplish? Not that the Democrats
would be any better, mind you.

Actually, the best period was when there was a Democratic president and a
Republican Congress.

From calendar year 2000 through July of 2003, federal spending increased
12%. This at a time when there has been almost no inflation and the
population is barely replicating itself. State and local spending in the
same period, by comparison, rose 6.6%. That is bad enough but certainly not
as bad as federal spending. Federal regulations increased 8.4%. States about
kept pace with an 8.5% increase.

One index of federal spending is as a percentage of national income. ATR
says that in 1991, federal spending was 25.5% of national income. That
figure then declined until 1999 at which point it was a bit over 21% of
national income. But then spending began to rise again beginning in 2000 and
as of this year it is just under 24% of national income, headed right back
to the 25.5% rate we suffered in 1991.

ATR's charts also demonstrate that we are experiencing the highest
regulatory burden since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan was just getting
cranked up in this regard.

Worried about deficits? ATR's figures show that deficits would not be a
problem if spending was restrained.

Is this just a Washington problem? No, says ATR. State and local spending is
at its highest level ever since data was collected beginning in 1977. Again,
no doubt your state had some sort of draconian revenue shortfall due to a
slow economy. ATR data demonstrates clearly that had there been spending
restraints there would not be a deficit problem in those states today. Most
of them added new entitlements during the booming 1990s and now have to face
the music.

Those who are familiar with my writings know I like our current president.
In fact I like him more than I liked Ronald Reagan. But in both cases,
spending got out of control. Reagan vetoed a few measures but not nearly
what he could have. This president never met a spending program he didn't
like. And Congress is worse.

The president needs to veto spending bills which exceed his recommendations.
Surely with an active Republican Study Committee again his vetoes can be
upheld. Then perhaps Washington will begin to experience a bit of fiscal
discipline again. Believe me it would not be a moment too soon.

In the meantime, remember who your employer is.

Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation

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