Trim the fat, not the meat

A well-functioning state has to rely on a corp of judges, military men, policemen and doctors that get decent pay and, eventually, a decent pension. Sure, the big wages of yore were unsustainable, but the low wages now are driving otherwise dedicated judicial and state functionaries to destitution.

Ruling officials, it seems, would rather maintain their army of party cronies than carry out spending cuts where necessary.