Fill in the Blank

Premise 1:   The federal government is like a family.
Premise 2:   A family must live within its means.
Conclusion:  The federal government must ___________.

Some guesses: Stop ordering take-out on Tuesdays when there's still two slices of pizza, including the one big slice, from the weekend. Buy watercress only if a) it already has a recipe that calls for watercress, or b) it really, actually intends to look one up in two days, three days max. *Gulp* Ask brother-in-law for a loan. Consider robbing old folks and making the dash. Sell collection of college textbooks on Craigslist for a quick fifteen bucks (applies only if the government has unused copies of I, Rigoberta Menchú and Faulkner's As I Lay Dying). Double check credit card statement to make sure it never signed up for AOL service in the 90s and just forgot about it. Come back for one last heist. Stop making charitable donations to Planned Parenthood. Refrain from cutting credit card down the middle for symbolic purposes and then having to pay ten bucks for a replacement. Canvas neighborhoods for compiling of comprehensive list of "Kids Eat Free" specials. Consider the financial rewards of a stint in the armed services Do a little web design on nights and weekends. Or, on a final and topical note, see if they're still hiring on the set of Two and a Half Men.