What should be done about America's debt? It's the $14 trillion question that continues to fuel debate in the halls of Congress and across dinner tables nationwide. To the delight of frustrated supporters and chagrin of emboldened critics, President Obama came out uncharacteristically swinging this week -- announcing in a Rose Garden speech his plan for $3 trillion in savings, which includes new taxes for the wealthy, a so-called millionaires tax and the elimination of loopholes and deductions. During his speech, the president's newly populist message tried to preempt his critics' inevitable line of attack by declaring, "This is not class warfare. It's math." And sure enough, the party line from the opposition party has been just that: Taxing the rich, they claim, is a socialist tactic that punishes achievement, and taxing anyone in a teetering economy would push us all over the edge. When trying to underscore the need to rein in the skyrocketing debt, supporters often make the analogy that if families have to balance their checkbooks, then so too should the federal government. But that analogy doesn't really hold up. It's more appropriate to think of the United States as a business -- one that has up years and down years, requiring operational adjustments based on how much money it spends and how much it brings in. With that in mind, we decided to ignore the politics and politicians and ask a group of people who actually run businesses what they would do about the debt. We just may see some members of our Board of Directors running for office soon.

Tom Szaky

Founder, TerraCycle "The Eco-Capitalist" "It's hard to argue with closing loopholes for special interests -- with ExxonMobil's profits up 53 percent, it's clear there's no need for a federal subsidy there, and it would allow for lowering the corporate tax rate. As CEO of a small company, I could only wish for that kind of corporate welfare, but would welcome the lower corporate rate. "Allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire -- and enacting the Buffett Rule, for that matter -- is also a no brainer. Those of us who benefit from the American marketplace shouldn't balk at supporting it. "The issue is that none of the measures in the plan will affect non-discretionary spending, which is the real challenge, both politically and fiscally."