A few weeks ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made a statement during a congressional hearing that ought to have made us all a little apprehensive. South Carolina Republican Representative Trey Gowdy had asked Geithner to estimate how much the debt ceiling would be raised if the U.S. government had one last opportunity to do so. Geithner responded that the debt ceiling would need to be raised by “a lot” and that the amount would “make you feel uncomfortable.”

With the government’s uncontrollable spending having no end in sight, Geithner’s estimate was no doubt accurate. Ten years have now passed since the last fiscal surplus, with debt increasing by over $1 trillion during each of the last four years. Frustration at these dismaying facts has led to a political revolution of sorts, with the Tea Party gaining national prominence.

However, the excitement and pressure to cut government spending that accompanied the rise of the Tea Party seems to have recently diminished a great deal. This may be a result of an uptick in the U.S. economy or possibly a function of the grueling Republican presidential nomination process. But despite the economic turnaround, it is critical that we still give national debt issues the attention they deserve. The more that we continue to borrow, the deeper a hole we will be digging for our generation and for future generations of Americans.

Before debating what government programs to cut and which taxes we might want to increase, it is important to understand where the federal government’s money currently goes. Under its $3.7-trillion budget for 2012, our government will spend over $2 trillion on mandatory entitlements and a little less than $700 billion on defense spending. Total revenue, meanwhile, is predicted to be around $2.5 trillion.

Republicans and Democrats have sparred over how to handle the debt issue, and there is no single right answer. However, a good place to start would be to simplify the tax code. Taxes, particularly the corporate income tax, have been unpredictable and unfair, as politicians have succeeded in creating certain exemptions for favorable industries and demographic groups. But these exemptions have cost the American people dearly. According to the Tax Policy Center, loopholes in the tax code will lower the government’s revenue by $1.3 trillion this year. The downside to this solution is the overwhelming opposition that special interest groups have expressed when specific loopholes have been targeted. The proposed budget by Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, navigates this treacherous water by failing to explicitly state which tax exemptions it would discontinue.

Beyond closing loopholes, more sweeping changes will surely be needed if we hope to close the multi-trillion-dollar budget deficit. These changes would include small tax increases. In 2011, the federal government revenue as a share of GDP was a little over 15 percent, one of the lowest since 1950. As the economy strengthens, allowing tax cuts to expire and increasing revenue as a percentage of GDP would seem to be a near certainty.

But the monumental level of debt that we face, over $16 trillion, will also require significant cuts to government programs that we cannot afford. Entitlement program spending projections show expenditures continuing to rise for the foreseeable future, but such increases are unacceptable given our current financial state. Therefore, entitlements need to be reigned in. Some of the best ways to do this may be to raise the retirement age for Medicare or to reduce the benefits of the program.

Now is the time for citizens and politicians alike to join together in a call to deal with our debt problem. As important as social issues are in the lives of many citizens, these problems will be nullified if we find ourselves sucked in a financial hole. Real solutions, not rhetoric, are needed. It’s about time we get serious about our growing financial problems or risk feeling very uncomfortable when our economy follows the same trajectory as the Greek economy.