Our government’s financial condition is unsustainable. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s simple arithmetic. The facts speak for themselves. With each passing month, more Americans are starting to recognize that reality. If you are paying attention, you see professionals and business leaders sounding the alarm, for good reason.

What does “unsustainable” mean? The answer is that it is fatal.

We are spending trillions of dollars annually that we do not have. To cover the gap, we borrow. Eventually, the world will lose confidence in our ability to repay what we owe, and when that moment comes, it won’t happen slowly. It will come suddenly, and by then, it will be too late to recover without incurring massive, lasting damage.

No one can say when this will happen. My best estimate is between five and 10 years. It could be sooner. The truth is that no one knows when the collapse in confidence will arrive, and that is why we cannot wait to act. Once the dam breaks, we will all suffer the consequences.

The current strategy is to kick the can down the road. Spend and borrow, and hope the bond markets continue to play along. That approach works only until it doesn’t. At some point, we won’t be able to sell our debt at reasonable interest rates. When that happens, our way of life — the United States we inherited and grew up in — will be gone.

An alternate strategy is to raise taxes. That approach means steep increases for everyone, not just the wealthy. The idea that we can fund this by taxing the rich is a fantasy. Every serious economic study confirms that there aren’t enough wealthy Americans to foot the bill. We’re talking about significantly higher income taxes, possibly a federal value-added tax, increases in gas taxes, and more. That is what they do in much of Europe, where they pay almost 50 percent more in taxes than we do. This has the side effect of dragging down economic growth and stifling innovation.

Everyone will pay more. And when we tax heavily and grow government further, the private sector (the part of the economy that produces goods and services, creates jobs and fuels innovation) shrinks. Growth slows, opportunity fades and our standard of living declines. Consider the economic stagnation in much of the European Union. If you are not aware, our standard of living is much higher than in the EU. We do not want to copy its approach.

The best strategy, however, is a return to limited government. There is a better path, but it requires something rare in Washington: courage. It requires a return to frugality and a limited federal government, as designed by our Founding Fathers. We need to streamline the federal government and let the States, or the people, do the rest, as clearly stated in Amendment 10 to the Constitution. If we help the needy, we can make this work to everyone’s advantage. We know this works. That framework helped America grow into the most prosperous, innovative and free nation in history. That wasn’t an accident. It was the result of clear principles and sound policy.

Yet here we are, waiting for some magical solution to appear. There’s no magic coming. No fairy will sprinkle pixie dust on our debt and make it vanish. The only way forward is through common sense and proven economics. And here is the secret formula: limited government + modest taxes + reasonable regs = prosperity + growth.

It’s not complicated. It’s not radical. It’s what worked before, and it will work again. The evidence is found in the real world. From Main Street to Wall Street, from farms to factories, the formula holds wherever it is applied.

We also know what doesn’t work. We’ve seen it in the real world. We’ve experienced periods of good policy and bad policy, and we’ve seen the results. We should stick with good policies that benefit us. Yes, the usual suspects will shout and scare, accusing reformers of “throwing grandma over the cliff.” Nonsense! We can provide for those in need and have good governance. What is cruel is ignoring the problem and bankrupting the country, then we all suffer. That is the most irresponsible thing of all.

It’s time to stop chasing fantasies and start facing facts. The clock is ticking, and our window to act is shrinking. Let’s choose discipline. Let’s choose growth. Let’s choose a future that works, not just for us but for our kids and grandkids and all generations to come.

Les Rubin is the founder and president of Main Street Economics. He wrote this InsideSources.com.