Debate over the so-called fiscal cliff has dominated the post-election agenda. But the challenge of dealing with long-term debt and the annual deficit has been brewing for years. And one man who has kept his focus and money on that target is the billionaire Peter G. Peterson.

The federal debt is at record levels and growing. States are "grappling with unprecedented fiscal crises," a new report says. And Europe's debt mess threatens the world economy. Some scholars think, like Plato, that democracy is the problem.