What the hell, I'll throw in my two penny ante.
I'm not too concerned about the short-term, say less than 5 years, economy. That will work itself out, regardless of what we do now, as I think that die is cast.
As for the long term solution, what I would like to see is a better economic education in all levels of school with a focus on individual fiscal responsibility. Teach the kids that if they want to have all the toys, then they have to work for them as no one will give them handouts. Teach the kids how to save and budget in order to be able to afford that 50 inch plasma TV. Teach them that at some point in their lives, they will need that rainy-day fund to save their house from being foreclosed.
The people today don't want to save and budget. They want the big house, big car, big TV now, not next year. Which is all well and good, except that those people have run-up their debt so high that they are living paycheck to paycheck even though they earn $80k per year. I see it everyday at work. They expect their new house to increase in value at a huge rate so they can borrow against their equity to buy more stuff. But when the house decreases in value, or their mortgage rate increases, then they say, "Help me, big government!" because they haven't saved a dime.
Enough. People need to learn patience. If they want to be rich, they need to realize that it will take a lifetime of earning, saving, and investing to get there. If they want to buy everything today, then they need to realize that they will have no money tomorrow.
Back to basics.