reduce the salaries of ex-government officials (Congress, President, etc) to 1.5*(the US average) to reduce the deficit.

The budget of the US congressman is three times larger than the average salary of the middle class. The salaries for other government officials go up from there. They do deserve some compensation for the work they do but no that much. Reducing the pay of government officials is a fast and effective way to cut into the deficit. In addition this salary applies only while they are members of Congress. Afterwards, they shouldn't be paid for jobs they aren't doing. After leaving office (whatever that office may be) these congressmen need to find other jobs and not use the government budget to pay for their lifestyle. As we can see, there is no room in the budget for it. Cut their pay during representation and don't pay them afterwards.