How to avert a united states bankruptcy

There is a lot of talk about the debt ceiling and the deadline passing.  The talking heads point to the problems that will arise if we cannot meet out debt, the 14 trillion, 8 of which was on a wasted war, in the wasteland of empires, Afghanistan, courtesy of Bush II, a president with no ability to exercise long term or even medium term intelligence and the congress that has not had that ability since the early 1900s.
Men of vision have come along in past catastrophes, Roosevelt and Reagan and prevented disaster.  We cannot hope that this will occur every time.  We must reform congress and then our own economy.  In an effort to provide everything for everyone, we are creating a country where there will be nothing for anyone.
The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries will soon produce 50% of the world's gross domestic product.  This is coming almost exclusively out of the united states.  The strong core which supports the crust through the pressure of production is being, and has been exported.  The crust without the core is so fragile that any pressure will make the economic ball crumble.  No one in congress deals with this because there are no rules to look at laws and actions with anything but the next election in mind, short term intelligence.
Congress battles itself like a dog chasing its tail because it is too entrenched to look beyond itself to the bigger picture, the country it is supposed to represent. 
The solution has to come from the Republic form of government.  It has to start with a state movement to reform congress.  Unfortunately, while individuals can easily agree with this, people as a whole are stupid and unable to act.  It requires individuals with the drive and vision to get the people to act despite themselves, because as a group, they are unable to act alone.
What is it about groups of humans that let themselves be led by heroes or fools?