Everyone knows that Government spending needs to be cut, and most people are willing to take some of the pain as long as it is shared equally.On that basis, it only makes sense to start at the top. When Lee Iacocca took over financially troubled Chrysler in the 1980s, he took a salary of $1 a year. When he had to enact painful cuts, he could do so from a strong moral position. He was making a sacrifice like everyone else and he was leading by example.In Bermuda, the easiest and most obvious way for the Government to get support for cuts is for Ministers to cut their own generous salaries.But it has not happened. Premier Paula Cox could have announced it as soon as she became Premier, and her party’s standing would have skyrocketed. But she didn’t. She could have announced it in the Budget as the pain of cuts became clear. But she didn’t.It is not as if the idea has not been around for some time. The United Bermuda Party has been calling for it since last year, and perhaps their MPs should make a symbolic donation of a portion of their MPs’ salaries to further shame the Government. Many other countries have already done it.Now the Bermuda Industrial Union is demanding that Ministers cut their salaries in return for a suspension of overtime pay and a wage freeze. The Government now runs the risk of bowing to the union’s will, but in this case, so what? It makes sense. The Government’s mistake is in not having done it already. The political damage is already done. The Government is now being reactive instead of pro-active.It is not as if the cut has to be substantial and no one is suggesting it should be $1 a year.The truth is that even a ten percent cut in Ministerial salaries (less than $200,000 a year in total) would have a minimal effect on the $1 billion Budget deficit. It’s the symbolism that counts. So a one percent cut, which would cost the average Minister a little more than $100 a month, would be just about acceptable.And yet there seems to be resistance. This makes no sense. No one will think less of Ministers if they take a cut. It will not be viewed as insulting. Perhaps in the same spirit, senior civil servants could take a reduction too, to avoid the apparent problem of civil servants earning more than their political masters.Failure to do so just gives more ammunition to the Opposition and the Government’s other opponents. It makes the Government seem selfish and uncaring. It makes the Government seem out of touch. It is bad politics and bad leadership.Again, this is the time for the Government to lead by example, to say its shares in the pain the community is feeling. It needs to happen now.