This year the average American must work 231 days -- just to pay the cost of government.

That's the startling claim of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a non-partisan organization that works for lower taxes and smaller government

Each year ATR calculates "Cost of Government Day." That's the date when the average American has -- finally! -- earned enough to pay his or her respective share of the total cost of government. That cost includes federal, state and local taxes. It also includes the costs imposed by government regulations that drive up the prices of products and services.

This year, Cost of Government Day finally crawled in on August 19 -- the latest date ever. That's 8 days later than last year and a full 34 days longer than 2008.

That means in 2010 the average American must toil an incredible 231 days -- almost 2/3 of the year -- just to earn enough to pay this year's spending and regulatory burdens imposed by federal, state, and local governments.

Put another way, the cost of government now consumes 63.41 percent of national income. This leaves workers only about a third of their income to meet such non-government expenses as food, shelter, clothing, and savings.

"Two years ago Americans worked until July 16 to pay for the cost of government: all federal, state and local government spending and regulatory costs," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "That government was too expensive and wasteful. Two years later, we work until August 19 for the same bloated government. We have lost an additional full month of our income to pay the cost of government in just the last two years."

Key findings of ATR's "Cost of Government Day" report include:

* Workers must labor 104 days just to pay for federal spending alone, which consumes 28.6 percent of national income.

* Taxpayers must work 52 days just to pay for state and local government spending.

* The average American worker must labor 74 days to cover the costs of government regulations.

* The figures, of course, vary by state, since local and state government costs are included in the average. The earliest Cost of Government Day occurs in Alaska, on July 28. The latest: Connecticut, on September 17.

Summarizes Barbara Hollingsworth of the San Francisco Chronicle: "By the nationwide average, Americans spent the first 104 days (January 1st until April 4th) working to pay for out-ofcontrol federal spending, the next 52 days (April 5th to May 28th) for state and local spending, the next 48 days (to July 14th) to pay for government regulations, and then 26 days for state and local regulations."