Fiscal Sustainability

I don't usually post stuff on politics here.  I don't want this to turn into a political commentary blog.  But lately I've been thinking about it.
My last few weeks in Austria I searched for articles about fiscal sustainability for a session they were holding at some point.  It has been on my mind in the last few weeks.  And especially this weekend with the Iowa primaries gearing up.
I fear for the country if the so called Tea Party keeps hijacking government for their own agenda.  I wonder how they expect us to get out of debt if they refuse to raise taxes at all?  I mean it's sorta the first rule of paying down debt is to increase the money coming in.  Yes, limiting your expenditures to fit your income is something everyone who works within a budget needs to do.  But when you have more debt than income you need to get another job or get a raise somehow.
But this is a foreign concept for some members of the elected government.  Yes, we should cut back certain areas of spending in government.  I know there have to be some programs that have run their course and are no longer useful or can be sustained without government money.  An independent audit would be the best way to go.  We need people who aren't influenced by political ideology, future power, or the media spotlight. 
Yes, what we need are (brace yourselves) experts.  I know, horrors!  It's unheard of.  Having people who are trained in these things and have spent years perfecting their skills helping people, businesses, universities, non-profit organizations, churches, and smaller governments live within their means advise the federal government to do the same. 
It's only common sense, which the Tea Party claims to embrace.  But their actions this last week or so make their words a lie. 
I don't want my plumber doing my taxes, or a car mechanic giving me a physical.  So why do we trust a journalist to tell us about religion, or a professional athlete to be a military strategist?  When did education and expertise become anathema?  And a better question is why?