All good points.

But ...

There is no goose that lays a golden egg. They need to look at a wholistic approach. Every Government spendature needs to be evaluated and scrutinized.

Freezing the pay of DOD civilians is a start & we've gotten used to that criticism (& jokes) over the years. The amount saved is minimal though and probably so insignificant that the total is within measurement error.

Remember also that the national debt is tied DIRECTLY with the standard of living. If you want the good life, not only do you have to buy it but you have to also get everyone else to buy into it as well to support the infrastructure that goes with it.