OK, I admit it, I'm a pack rat. Anyone who knows me really well understands that I like to hold onto things because, darn it, you just never know when you're going to need it.

It's a "native" York countian thing to do, I guess. At least, that's what I've been told.

I've never felt too guilty about it, either, because every once in a while something I've stashed away actually comes in handy.

The most recent example is a report I received from The Commonwealth Foundation about six years ago. I still had it tucked away in one of my computer files because I figured I might need it somewhere down the line. And Thursday, as I was cleaning out the junk in some old files, I ran across it.

Right away, I knew it was something I could use for comparative purposes. In case you don't know, The Commonwealth Foundation is a statewide, nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy research center based in Harrisburg. That comes straight from the foundation's Web site.

One of the things The Commonwealth Foundation keeps tabs on is how much it costs to run a government -- money in and money out. Where does the money come from, and how is it being spent?

That's something I care about, too. Some people have told me I care about it too much. My response is always that I don't think most of us care about it enough. If we cared a little more, our various government entities would be reluctant to spend the amount of money they spend, and they'd stop spending it like it grows on trees.

"Taxpayers

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who pay for government deserve to know how much it's spending and how fast it's been growing in recent years," said former foundation President Sean Duffy in 2001.

Duffy is no longer the foundation president, but Matthew J. Brouillette, president and CEO, would probably say the same thing today. Word for word, perhaps.

Anyway, back in early 2001, The Commonwealth Foundation released results of a study of the total cost of government in Pennsylvania -- including the state, counties, municipalities, school districts and municipal authorities.

Get this: At that time, they figured it cost more than $61 billion a year -- more than $5,000 per citizen in the state -- to run all those governments. That was the price tag for school districts, municipal governments and the state budget combined.

Worse, looking at data going back to 1993, the foundation determined that the total cost of government in the state rose 14.4 percent -- that was 30 percent faster than the rate of inflation -- over a five-year period ending in 1997.

Between 1986 and 1998, the state's 501 school districts increased spending
107 percent, the majority of which went for instructional costs, including teacher salaries.

Pennsylvania's 2,568 municipalities increased spending 59 percent between 1986 and 1997, and the state's 66 county governments boosted spending 120.4 percent.

Now, let's fast forward to the same report released at the end of the fiscal year in 2006. The total cost of state and local government had reached $108.3 billion. It was projected to reach $130 billion by fiscal year 2010-11 (by conservative projections).

That means government spending levels almost doubled since 1997. That amounted to about $8,690 for every man, woman and child in the state. Per-capita costs for state government were $4,312, while the per-capita cost of local government was $4,378.

For the first three years of Gov. Ed Rendell's administration, the cost of state government "increased by an estimated $586 for every person in the state, or $2,344 for a family of four." During the same period, costs of local government increased by 18.4 percent -- $680 per person.

It's simply outrageous that the cost of government could grow at those rates, while the pay of most workers in this state rose at the rate of inflation or less. In fact, if the cost of government had grown at the rate of inflation, we all would have paid $2,400 less than we actually paid in taxes.

It's painful to even think about. My wallet screams for mercy.

Nevertheless, I thank The Commonwealth Foundation for keeping track.

Whether we like it or not, we need the reminder.

Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.