How to Cut the Deficit, Painlessly...

Well, painlessly for the taxpayer, anyway.  As Byron York points out, taxpayer savings of $40B to $47B annually could be generated simply by freezing government workers' pay until it comes into line with what non-government workers are paid to do similar work.  This is at least conceivable, politically – particularly if the Democrats are soundly thrashed in November.

What I'd really like to see happen, though, is that government workers' total compensation (pension included) is capped at parity to non-government worker levels – and average less – say 80% or 85%.  For the good of our economy, government jobs should be unattractive.  The only high-paying government jobs should be in the military.

Of course there's no way that any Democrat – or the vast majority of Republicans – would ever go for my proposal.  The thoroughly-entrenched bureaucratic special interests will see to that...