With the clock winding down and the Aug. 2 deadline for increasing our national debt ceiling fast approaching, politicians in Washington are feeling more than summer heat. At hand are the Republicans led by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. On the other side are President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

What’s at stake is not just the possibility of defaulting on our commitments to the American people and our debt holders but the very idea that freedom, democracy and capitalism can survive.

On the right you have tea party activists demanding that Congress not raise taxes but only cut spending to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. On the left you have yet another ideology that believes only a small number of wealthy people should bear responsibility for fixing our debt crises through higher taxes. They believe that government knows best what the people need.

In the middle: The rest of us, the American people, including seniors, retired military, soldiers and bond holders, all wondering what is going on in Washington. In coffee shops, at restaurants and around dinner tables, everyone is talking and wondering how all this might affect them. They’re also wondering how we really got to this sorry state.

By now, everyone has heard both points of view on how we got here. But there should be no doubt about what it will take to solve this crisis.

Assuming Congress and the president sign on to the most aggressive plans now under discussion, our nation’s debt is expected to balloon to more than $20 trillion by 2020. That’s a 33 percent increase in our nation’s debt from current levels. Assuming interest rates for government borrowing are 5 percent, the interest on our debt would equal a mind-blowing $1 trillion annually, consuming 37 percent of all government revenue compared to the 19 percent we spend on interest today.

None of this seems to make much sense when in fact we all thought negotiations in Washington were about fixing our nation’s debt and deficit problems. Neither party seems to get what all this is really about. They seem more concerned with re-election than saving our country. On both sides of the aisle are obstructionists who tout their cherished beliefs knowing full well this country cannot continue down the same old paths.

I commend the tea party and the principles it stands for. We all understand and believe that when our government taxes us, there is a responsibility that those dollars be spent wisely and not on things like “a bridge to nowhere.” Likewise, everyone understands the liberal view of Democrats that there is a moral responsibility in our society to help take care of those less fortunate. The difficult part is finding balance and determining who needs help and how much one should pay to help others.

To solve the debt crisis, both sides must sit down and make the tough decisions essential to move this country forward. First, the tea party movement and like-minded Republicans must agree to tax increases. Such increases must include the 50 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes as well as those making more than $250,000 a year. We should increase the rate paid for capital gains as well as dividends.

On the other hand, liberal and conservative Democrats alike must agree on meaningful spending cuts as well as real reforms to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Retirement ages need to be increased sooner rather than later, and benefits under such programs should be means-tested. We should also create new self-funded programs for future generations of Americans so that fewer people become dependent on government to take care of them.

Since each house of Congress is controlled by a different party, compromise is essential. The debt crisis and the uncertainty facing the American people is larger than any person or political party. Making sure we get this right is especially paramount to future generations.

Gordon Robinson is president of Robinson Media, which owns the Waco Tribune-Herald .