This index attempts to quantify what is the real cost of having a government and receiving "free" goods and services from it.
OUR INDEX
The explanation
The TCCO index is inspired by the Total Cost of Ownership measurement which is defined as "a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or system."
Thus, our TTCO is a financial estimate intended to help citizens and residents (i.e. country owners) to determine the direct and indirect costs of having a country and receiving goods and services from it.
For the TCCO we provide several measurements which will help you understand the impact that governments have in your life. Thus, the TCCO is not one index but three in one.
The calculation
For the TCCO we first calculate the cost in constant USD of government expenditures and variations in debt for each year for which we have sufficient data. We divide this number by the total amount of people in the country.
Then, we add all those years and extrapolate linearly to the average life expectancy of each country. This is, we calculate the total cost of a government over the lifespan of one person in a given country. This is how much we pay to have a government throughout our entire life. This number is expressed as constant USD per lifespan. It is indicated in the index as TCO USD.
Once we have this number, we divide it by the average wage per year of a person in a given country. This number identified as Years Worked indicates the average number of years that a person must work in order to pay for the TCO USD. This is, the number of years that a person works for free, just for the privilege of having a government.
In the last step, we first calculate how many years does a person work, on average, during its life. We then calculate what percentage of these years (i.e. the %Work Lifespan) we spent in order to pay for the government we have. In other words, this is the percentage of our working years throughout our life that we must work exclusively for the government.
The issues
The TCCO index is based on existing data, which, sadly enough is incomplete. Additionally, some data has been extrapolated from other information because direct measurements are not available. Furthermore, the TCCO is wildly ultra-conservative because existing data indicates that the TCO USD increases every year. However, our extrapolation assumes that there is no such increase. Additionally, although average wages do go up in time, the TCO USD grows faster.
In addition, the TCCO does not account for the fact that government employees are actually a burden, an expenditure. The TCCO counts government employees as wealth creators.
And lastly, we ignore the fact that even government handouts come with "taxes" in many, many countries, when they actually pay out. Scams such as "Unemployment Insurance" or "Pension Plans" administered by governments are, for the most part, money making machines for governments. And please, don't believe us, do your research.
Basically, what all this means is that the TCCO is an imperfect index which is only indicative of a general trend and it is only better than nothing. We know that, so please don't tell us. If you have the time and the stamina, please contact us and we will be happy to pass on all our improvements from our wish list.
The index
The following picture provides the color codes to understand the scale.
This table is based on %Work Lifespan. We have chosen to classify the data in four segments; 20%, 40%, 60% and over 60%. This is so because we are taking a page from the middle ages. Yes. You read it correctly. It so happens that during the middle ages peasants had to pay various rental fees and taxes to the hierarchy, religious and secular. However, all "authorities" at the time fully comprehended that a payment imposition over 20% of all products and services (i.e. created wealth) typically resulted in the bankruptcy of the peasant and this meant no income. However, in our modern day and age, governments have come to believe that they can extract from us far greater wealth than 20%, thus the colour coding.
The Table
This is the table of countries sorted by TCCO. The first column contains the name of the country and the second column contains the TCO USD, the third contains Years Worked and the fourth the %Work Lifespan.
The other table
For your convenience, we have also included a table with the data sorted by %Work Lifespan.
COMMENTS
The TCCO is an important index because it shows in terms of hard currency and your life the real, actual effort that is robbed from us every day. It is precisely because of this robbery that we can barely make ends meet. We work for free for the government the vast majority of our life!
This should give pause to all those who still advocate for socialist policies. In view of the TCCO, it is clear that it is impossible for democratic politicians to declare that the system works, it is sustainable and provides necessary goods and services at a price we can afford. Let us dispel this myth right away: its bullshit!
This is clearly visible in the ridiculous number of working years that we would have to work for the government, in many cases several times above and beyond our lifespan!
Socialism can only be achieved by mortgaging the future through borrowing and this shows clearly in the TCCO. Yet another proof that socialism is not only a fairy tale, but that in practice it is totally, completely and utterly unworkable and destructive.
Final Notes
Also, if you want the entire table, please download the attached Excel or PDF files.
Have fun with the data!
 Total_Country_Cost_Of_Ownership.pdf | [Total Country Cost Of Ownership] | 276 kB |
 Total_Country_Cost_Of_Ownership.xlsx | [Total Country Cost Of Ownership] | 34 kB |
