There's a scene where Kevin Kline, who's "acting" as the President, goes into the Cabinet Room with all of his chiefs, takes out a pen and strikes government funding off a list one item after another. One useless government expenditure after another crossed off a great big list in order to save other programs. Might be simplistic, but perhaps that's the way we need to go. I'd start with foreign aid if it was me and the first one's to go would be those countries that criticize our policies pubicly. Let's see how they do on their own and let's start taking care of our own...at least those that deserve it.

The problem with that pragmatic approach is each one of those useless programs they cut equals votes for somebody.  So you cut some BS program and a Senator won't want to allow it because some Union or special interest group supported a politician specifically for dumping money into that program thru some last minute amendment.  

We are massively in debt because this is how politicians get elected.  That is their only interest.