[Vision2020] Cost of Government Day!

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 11:59:13 -0700

I agree with you, Mr. Moffet.

After reviewing the statistics (vague beyond belief), posted on www.atr.org
(Americans for Tax Reform, a slightly biased entity) that Mr. Courtney
linked his comments to, nothing really surprised me.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com]On
> Behalf Of Ted Moffett
> Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 11:40 AM
> To: donovanarnold@hotmail.com; dale@courtneys.us
> Cc: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Cost of Government Day!
>
>
>
> Dale et. al.
>
> Could you give us your source or sources for these facts and also
> provide an
> in depth analysis?
>
> The absolute cost of government will go up, even if the cost per person
> remains constant, with population increases.  What percentage of the
> increased cost of government is due to population increase?
>
> If the number of days the "average" American has worked to pay for
> government has increased 35 days since 2000, I assume this is an
> averaging
> across all incomes?  Is it or is it not?
>
> We are getting a reduction in the federal income tax this year, and other
> types of taxation are being reduced, so how does this effect your figures?
>
> If the taxation of millionaires and billionaires results in a
> large increase
> in the amount of tax collected, just because perhaps we have more
> millionaires etc. than before, this may mean that the "average" worker in
> the lower or middle classes is not really working 35 more days to pay for
> the government.  It may be a figure less than this.  If you are averaging
> the cost of government across all incomes, the higher tax rates
> of the upper
> classes will mean they "work" more days per year to pay for government,
> unless they skip out on their taxes utilizing the various methods the
> wealthy have at their disposal, than the lower and middle classes.
>
> Many among the super rich do not need to "work."  They can increase their
> wealth, and live quite well, by just investing their money,
> letting someone
> else manage their wealth, and in effect live off the labor of
> others.  Often
> the money of this super rich class is invested off shore.  So
> much for the
> assumption that the Bush tax cuts benefiting the super rich will
> result in
> investment leading to jobs here in the USA for the "average"
> working person.
>
> To say the super rich are "working" an extra 35 days a year, or
> whatever is
> really adds up to for them, to pay for government, is an insult to the
> average working women and men of the US doing the low paying
> labor many of
> these rich individuals would never consider doing.
>
> As you well know, throwing out a bunch of statistics and facts
> says almost
> nothing without knowing precisely what the numbers mean.  And in human
> terms, as we say, not just economics and statistics!
>
> Ted
>
> >From: "Donovan Arnold" <donovanarnold@hotmail.com>
> >To: dale@courtneys.us, vision2020@moscow.com
> >Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Cost of Government Day!
> >Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 07:55:36 -0700
> >
> >Dale,
> >
> >What is the cost of not having a government? How much does the
> Government
> >save us in the long run?
> >
> >Donovan J Arnold
> >
> >>From: "Dale Courtney" <dale@courtneys.us>
> >>To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> >>Subject: [Vision2020] Cost of Government Day!
> >>Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 06:58:13 -0700
> >>
> >>July 11 was the "Cost of Government Day".
> >>
> >>*	Total Cost of Government: $4.96 Trillion
> >>*	Per Person Cost of Government: $17,017
> >>*	Number of Days worked to pay for government: 193
> >>
> >>The cost of government change from 2000-2003: 9.7% increase
> >>
> >>*	Federal Spending: 12.4% increase
> >>*	State/Local Spending: 6.6% increase
> >>*	Federal Regulations: 8.4% increase
> >>*	State Regulations: 8.5% increase
> >>
> >>Bottom Line: The average American has worked a cumulative 35
> more days to
> >>pay for the cost of government since 2000.
> >>
> >>You are now free to earn income for the rest of the year to pay for your
> >>other needs and wants.
> >>
> >>Dale Courtney
> >>Moscow, Idaho
> >
> >_________________________________________________________________
> >MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*.
> >http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
> >
> >_____________________________________________________
> >List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the
> >communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> >                              mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> >ЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇ
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
>
> _____________________________________________________
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com
> ЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇЇ
>