Two Things

Here are suggestions by an ordinary citizen to change our economy for the better. 
First, cut the insane allotment to the military in half.  We do not need more battleships, tanks or other arms of mass destruction.  Believe me, nobody is going to invade our Country.  Right now we have enough missiles to eliminate all human life on this planet.  And as to the threat of a terrorist attack, we do not need probes to do the job of flattening an area where terrorists are located since this would also mean the death of innocent civilians and is like killing a scorpion with a bazooka.  Leave this problem to the secret service, the FBI, and the police forces in this country in close affiliation with the same organizations in the countries of Western Europe.  Together they have been able in the past to prevent terrorist planned attacks.  Also bring home the troops that are stationed in foreign lands on friendly grounds.  World War II ended long ago.

Second, let the owners of the millions of acres of land that belong to some church or religious organization pay property taxes just like any homeowner has to do.  Being religious is a personal thing and our government should not be involved in special treatment of any religious sect.  Our founding fathers built a wall between church and state, but this wall has been crumbling slowly.  Let us reinstate this.  Then with the revenue that these actions produce, let us repair and improve our roads, bridges, dams, sewer, gas, and water lines that are all in dire need of this. Doing so, we would create millions of jobs not just in the labor force but also in the factories and shops that would supply the material and the tools for these jobs.  This would bring us on the road of recovery.