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In the model that I subscribe to, there are three phases of government finance. In phase one, the government uses taxation from current income to finance its operations. After a period of time, that natural voracious appetite for spending pushes taxation to a point where it becomes impolitic to increase any further. In phase two, the government looks to deficit spending (or more simply, borrowing) to finance itself. Eventually, lenders lose faith in the borrowing government's ability to make good on its debt, so the borrowing window is slammed shut. In phase three, the government debases the currency (which is, as the articles points out, a tax on cash balances).

In effect, the government starts out by taxing current income, which is a reasonable approach. In phase two, they tax future income, which NOT sustainable over the long term. Finally, in phase three, they tax PAST income through inflation. There are really few other options after phase three. Perhaps, a country in dire straits could conquer a neighboring country and exploit its natural resources (e.g. the United States could conquer western Canada for its oil), but of course, this would not solve anything while creating massive human misery. The real problem, the root cause is an insatiable appetite for spending on the part of the government.