● A Balanced-Budget Amendment to the Constitution, with appropriate exceptions for times of war and recession.
● A line-item veto, to give the President a fighting chance to eliminate pork and earmarks.
● A limitation on federal spending, to 20% of GDP.

Remember that it's your money. If you live above your means, using borrowed money to do so, then the banks and money-lenders will own what should have been your retirement savings when you hit retirement age. This is especially true if you use borrowed money throughout your working years to purchase things that you want but do not necessarily need. Distinguish clearly between what you need and what you want. In the end, the fiscally prudent will own the fiscally profligate, and this applies equally to households, businesses and governments. If you think being a diligent saver will tank the economy, think again. The banks will lend money to those who spend it; investments in in mutual funds and individual stocks (i.e., publicly-held companies) will go back into the economy in the form of salaries, product development, plant expansion, and countless other ways. By saving or investing, your role has gone from being a direct consumer of goods and services to an indirect consumer. Unless you lock it in a vault or stuff it in a mattress, the money hasn't left the economy. .