I wanted to alert our RedState community to the launch of a new interactive website that exposes us all more directly to the cost of our massive government spending.

The site, called MyGovCost.org, moves beyond simply clocking the aggregate deficit, and instead enables people to calculate the cost to themselves of various federal programs.

Quoting from an announcement of the site’s launch:

After a visitor to MyGovCost.org enters his or her age, income, and level of education, the website’s Government Cost Calculator estimates the person’s monthly and lifetime federal tax liability (in total or by federal program), along with the amount of money that he or she might have earned had those funds been invested in the stock market instead of going to pay for Uncle Sam’s spending habits.

The usefulness of this site as I see it is that by calculating on an individual basis the true cost of federal programs, we can see more graphically how much Congress and the President are wasting our money and our children’s money – a novel approach that drives home the message in a tangible way that talking about trillions of dollars of debt can’t do because the numbers are just too huge to comprehend.

This site would appear to be a powerful new tool in our efforts this November (and beyond) to get the American people to understand just how horrendous and costly has been the Democrats’ spending frenzy. And since this is a brand new site, I would hope that those here who find this site useful would help spread the word about it.

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I’d also like to give a plug for the creators of this site, the Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank headquartered in Oakland, CA with whom I have personal acquaintance at several levels (but not as an employee nor do I have any financial interests in their operation). I’ve been impressed by their level of scholarship (though I do have serious issues with their foreign policy bent), and my son participated in their Summer Seminar this past June.