A jumble of file folders and envelopes stuffed with scraps of paper clutter one end of our dining room table, but nobody’s coming over for dinner anytime soon, so who cares? The mess came honestly: It’s the work product of our annual scramble to figure out our income tax obligation.

Have some sympathy, please, for my wife, because she’s shouldering the burden of calming my anxiety over the fact that we owe the government more money this year. She calmly notes that nobody is coming after us with handcuffs, and that the feds are surely more interested in pursuing the tens of millions that Donald Trump has withheld from the treasury than the few thousand that we admittedly owe. Anyway, we can afford to hand over what’s due.

So here’s what I’m telling myself: Relax and pay up. Good, right? Maybe I can help you feel the same way.

Because you know that you want what those tax dollars provide: Good schools and fine university systems. Roads and bridges, hospitals, libraries, parks. Clean water…