"The [New Zealand] government removed major regulations from the economy, including wage and price controls.  The public sector was significantly downsized through spending cuts and privatizations, reducing the number of public employees by half and cutting spending by more than 7 percent of DGP.""To lower debt, the government [of Canada] implemented a pay freeze on public employee salaries, eliminated 15 percent of the federal workforce, and made large reductions in subsidies to businesses, such as railways, agricultural industries, and cultural industries."Source:  Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform. Success Stories in Debt Reduction(Read Full Post)