A company saddled with a hefty debt load might try to get back on a healthy track by laying off employees or reducing pay.
The same holds true for a nation trying to tackle a dire fiscal situation.
Japan, bedeviled by snowballing social security costs, can save ¥21 million a year just by cutting one lawmaker, and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is trying to remove 80 from the Lower House by the next election. If the DPJ manages it, some money would indeed be saved, but the attempt is really more of a gesture to show the public that politicians are willing to share the pain that will come with the planned hike in the consumption tax.
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