Debt-ridden North Dakota Celebrates Late COGD Due to Bloated Spending

Happy Cost of Government Day North Dakota! This year, North Dakota “celebrates” its Cost of Government Day on July 20 with two other states – falling five days after the national average on July 15.  The Cost of Government Day measures the calendar date by which the average American must labor to pay for the costs of government spending and regulatory burdens at all levels of government – federal, state and local.

This year, North Dakotans had to work 202 days out of the year to pay for state, local and their share of federal government spending and regulations.

For the third consecutive year, residents of North Dakota experienced reductions in their taxes.  Looking at the last ten years, cumulatively, taxes declined by $534.62 million; or, taxes declined by $817.73 for each man, woman and child.  Together, state and local taxes compose 9.5 percent of all income earned by North Dakotans.

North Dakota has a total state debt of approximately $6.26 billion. For a state with a population just over 650,000, the debt equates to $9,568.39 per person.  Despite declining taxes, the state suffers from bloated spending habits, earning them a more expensive Cost of Government Day than 34 other states.