Just wondering why no one talks about shaving the fat - reducing the budget, lowering costs, being smarter with spend, etc? Is it like some unwritten rule that

Just wondering why no one talks about shaving the fat - reducing the budget, lowering costs, being smarter with spend, etc? Is it like some unwritten rule that the price we pay right now is exactly how much we need to pay for the quality of service we are getting? I know that countries like Taiwan have a 4-10x lower level of income as places like New York City and have the same quality of living. Can't we make the argument, in times of prosperity we all paid ourselves a little too much and now we just need to pay ourselves less? Companies do that all the time - they cut the fat in hard times. Why can't cities and societies do that as well? Cutting the fat isn't letting poor people starve on the streets. It's an admittance that we feasted during the times of boom, and at that we can't feast at the same level in times of famine, from all levels of society. Instead, the narrative is always we need to raise taxes, like our over-indulgence, inflated standard of living in times of abundance, and padding our pockets is some sacred right that can never be questioned.