The relentless propaganda of the Villagers has persuaded everyone including liberals that Teh Debt will give us all ebola virus in our privates. Fact is that the Gov needs to incur more debt, not less, in order to keep the economy from collapsing. We need people and business firms and state and local governments to spend more, not less, but insofar as these entities are tapped out (mainly households and S&L govs), spending will lag and jobs will be a long time coming back.
The National Government of the United States of America is not like a family or a local government that somehow has to balance its budget. (Of course, in the short term families and local governments do not balance their budgets. They borrow to invest, or to tide themselves over in lean times.) But that aside, unlike families or S&L govs the Federal government can borrow in its own currency, which is accepted worldwide.
Could this become a problem? After all, the national debt has increased a lot, thanks to tax cuts, two stupid wars, a stupid defense buildup, and the Great Recession. Eventually it could be a problem. Right now it manifestly is not. There is no inflation, and interest rates -- an indicator of the faith put in U.S. debt -- are very low. Much debt is held by the U.S. public, so it reflects a transfer within the economy, not "money leaving the economy." Other debt is held by the Federal Reserve. Interest paid for this debt is returned to the Federal government proper. No money lost that way either. The only mildly concerning bit is debt held by foreigners. So far they are happy to hold U.S. government securities instead of their own flaky currencies.
Want to reduce the deficit? First, wait until the unemployment rate is where it should be, within shouting distance of five percent. In and of itself, that will reduce the deficit significantly. Then stop doing stupid tax cuts, stupid wars, and stupid defense spending. Or stop voting for the stupid politicians who can't find their arse with two hands and a flashlight.