The way to decrease the deficit is to close the tax loopholes.
The Republicans are lying when they say it can be done by cutting little nickel and dime grants. That won't work, because the things Republicans are cutting are just too small. The Democrats are lying when they say can be done by increasing top marginal rates. That won't work because only professional athletes are really paying those top marginal rates, everybody else is hiding their earnings as other things.
The loopholes are the big deal.
Close the carried interest loophole, and start collecting capital gains tax on any asset used as collateral on a loan (tax the change in value between when it was purchased and when the lender assessed it). There are other similar loopholes to close.

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