Just like an irresponsible teenager with a credit card that just doesn't seem to realize that he can't have everything he wants with no cost, we might NEED to hit rock bottom for society to realize that government simply can't...
Pay for your healthcare, pay you when you don't have a job, pay you when you buy a house, pay you for buying a solar panel when you buy your house, pay you when you can't afford your mortgage, pay your bank when they go under because you don't pay your mortgage, pay for wars in two countries at once (while funding others)...
See the problem here? The government IS supposed to serve the people, the problem is that it's become a wishing well. Only once the government is forced to shrug its shoulders and say "Sorry, I can't afford to give you x anymore" and people get past the entitlement-fueled rage, will we be able to rebuild. I fear that society's belief that everyone is entitled to, and everyone can have the American dream is too firmly entrenched.