Don Brunell

An enterprising Associated Press reporter put the cost of the recent $1.1 trillion dollar federal spending bill in perspective.

At 370,445 words long, it works out to just under $3 million per word – and it funds government operations only through September. Congress begins a debate on increasing the debt ceiling again this month.

The amount of money the federal government spends – some say overspends – is so enormous, so massive that the average person simply cannot relate. We have no personal experience with numbers that large.

This tax season, H&R Block is airing an ad campaign that puts la...