Oakland, CA—Love Gov: From First Date to Mandate, the new, satirical video series about a young woman who faces growing troubles when she succumbs to the charms of a meddlesome boyfriend—a stand-in for Big Government—has surpassed a combined total of one million views on YouTube, the producer announced today.

“We are thrilled that our Love Gov series has found a large audience so quickly,” said David J. Theroux, Founder and President of Independent Institute, a non-profit group that produced the series in association with Emergent Order.

“The good news is that many, many people find it hugely entertaining and worth sharing on social media,” he continued. “The series resonates with so many people precisely because it reflects a dark truth that they’ve learned through their own personal experience: namely, that government policies too often worsen, rather than solve, the very problems they’re supposed to fix.”

Released on July 6th, the five-part Love Gov series of 5-minute videos personifies the folly of meddlesome government through the story of Alexis Smith, a young woman whose life is turned upside down after she falls for and trusts Scott “Gov” Govinsky. As their relationship develops, Alexis finds herself drowning in student debt, distressed by an absurd health plan she can’t afford, scrambling to find an affordable home, overwhelmed by government regulations that ruin her fledgling start-up, having her privacy upended, and more. Alexis struggles to understand the source of her problems—while turning a deaf ear to her more perceptive friend, Libby.

The Love Gov video series promotes the MyGovCost mobile app, a free tool enabling a user to estimate his or her lifetime federal tax liability, their contribution to various categories of federal spending, and what that their tax payments would have amounted to had they been privately invested, based on the average return for the U.S. stock market since 1871.

Independent Institute created MyGovCost.org in 2010 to educate people about the impact on their lives of reckless government spending. In addition to its Government Cost Calculator, the website offers news and opinion via the MyGovCost News & Blog.

Independent Institute is a non-profit, research and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For more information visit independent.org and subscribe to Independent’s YouTube channel.