It is mathematically impossible to balance the budget on the backs of the rich.

[Gustaf]

There is some portion of the deficit that doesn't actually need to be dealt with, because it is cyclical and will disappear by itself once the economy picks up.

Beyond that the US will have to make a choice between either paying the taxes required to fund the current size of the state or settling for the state the current taxes can pay for. Or some point in between.

And I'd like to note the absurdity of thinking state-subsidized higher education decreases social mobility.