The simple answer would be to cut spending. Something that neither party seems capable of doing
Start with ethanol subsidies.
If it weren't for ridiculously out of control spending, raising taxes wouldn't be necessary at all.
Too much waste & corruption in the entitlement programs in place. They all need to be thoroughly restructured/redesigned.
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP account for 48% of federal spending. The Military accounts for 18% and there aren't many politicians who talk about cutting defense spending. Interest on national debt is 7%. These numbers are from 2014.
That's almost 3/4ths of the entire federal budget. When more people go into retirement, start collecting social security and utilizing Medicare, this percentage of the national budget consumed by these areas will increase and you cannot run a campaign with cuts to these areas on your platform. You will not get elected.
Assuming it would be possible to cut spending in half across the board on everything else (just imagine what everything else actually is for a minute), that would decrease national spending by a total of 12.5%. Considering that would be nearly impossible to do, you'd be fortunate to cut an amount equal the interest payments on the national debt.
Bottom line, you can't possibly cut enough because the vast majority of the federal budget is nearly non-negotiable. Cutting social security or Medicare would be political seppuku. Alienate one of the largest voting populations who also shows up at a higher percentage than all other voting groups? No chance. Medicaid and CHIP will not be cut because cutting funding from children, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities will not get anyone elected or re-elected. Defense spending is always non-negotiable.
There may be waste in all of these programs but there isn't a fucking chance in hell that any one of them will seriously be scrutinized for it.