Big Apple, Big Spending: New Yorkers Finally Celebrate Cost of Government Day (Empire Strikes Out)

Center for Fiscal Accountability ^ | 9/10/10 | CFA

[Andrea19]

ew York is the third-to-last state to reach Cost of Government Day, the day on which taxpayers are finally done paying off the cost of local, state and federal spending and regulations. New York celebrates their Cost of Government Day today: September 10. While this is the first time New Yorkers have had to wait until September to pay for the size of their government, they are no strangers to laboring long into the year to achieve that dubious goal - both in 2009 and 2010 only two states have had later Cost of Government Days than the Empire state: New Jersey and Connecticut.

Cost of Government Day (COGD) indicates the size of the government burden for a given state—the earlier it falls, the smaller the burden of government. Thus, New York’s date of September 10th suggests that the burden of government is not only huge, it is exploding.

The national Cost of Government Day fell on August 19, meaning that New Yorkers had to work an additional 22 days in order to pay off their burdensome government. In other words, the average American had to work for 231 days to pay their portion of the burden of government, while the average New Yorker had to work for 253 days. After today, New Yorkers have the rest of the year—112 days—to earn for themselves.

Governor Paterson has financed his most recent spending binges by forcing tax hikes—one in a long line of tax hikers. In the last eight years, New York taxpayers have been saddled with an additional $29.97 billion in taxes. That amounts to an outrageous $1541.12 per New Yorker (every man, woman and child) in new taxes...

[Andrea19]

Friends and family in New York state have recommended staying away until at least after the 2010 gubernatorial election; and depending upon the new governor's first year, perhaps even longer.

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[Suz in AZ]

New Yorkers are slaves. Anyone who owns less than 50% of their own labor is owned by someone else. They live on the NY plantation.