Council for Citizens Against Government Waste speaks against paying for government regulations 

(Washington, D.C.) – At a Washington news conference today, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) joined with other taxpayer groups to commemorate “Cost of Government Day.” Cost of Government Day is the day when the average American worker has earned enugh in gross income to pay off his or her share of federal, state and local spending, plus the cost of government regulation.  This year, Cost of Government Day falls on June 16, the latest day in history. 

“Taxpayers lose too much time paying off government expenditures,” said CCAGW President Thomas A. Schatz.  “Each year, the day gets pushed back further into the year. When will be able to work for ourselves and not for the US government?”

Total cost of government regulation for the year 2000 is $1.1 trillion, up from $1.06 trillion last year.  Each man, woman and child pays $14,463.59 to cover the cost of government.  Taxpayers spent 173 days working to pay off the cost of government in 2000, with a majority of the time is consumed for state and local regulations. 

Unfortunately, the amount of regulation is miscalculated.  There are other programs that are yet to be factored into the cost of government, such as worker safety, consumer protection, and environmental protection.  Because of government regulation, the United States loses $1.5 trillion of economic output in one year alone.  Adding onto that, small business owners spend one billion hours filling out government forms at a total cost of $100 billion.

However, there is hope to ease the pain of Cost of Government Day.  The elimination of programs such as the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Community Development Block Grant would save over $900 million in just one year. 

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.