This excerpt originally appeared in The Morning Call on April 16, 2012.

This Tax Day, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that Americans will enjoy an extra two days to file their returns. (April 15 was Sunday, and today is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.)

The bad news? Washington will burn through our $2.5 trillion in taxes by July 31. After that, everything goes on credit. And by December, even the federal credit card will be maxed out, and politicians will again raise the debt ceiling.