One of the first major actions President Donald Trump’s team took as he began his second term was to freeze government spending on various domestic “assistance” programs as well as on foreign aid administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Late last Tuesday, hours before the domestic freeze was to go into effect, a federal judge put a hold on it, and the next day, the administration rescinded the freeze altogether. Similarly, the day before, the administration announced numerous waivers to the USAID freeze as groups within the executive branch battled over who was calling the shots.

Despite how quick the administration was in walking back the freeze on funding or making exceptions for foreign aid, the media still had a field day with all the chaos that erupted as a result. Reporters at establishment-friendly outlets across television and print went to great lengths to gather details about all the organizations providing goods and services to some of the most vulnerable people—at home and abroad—who were suddenly left wondering if their main source of funding had dried up.

If an administration or political party is ever going to successfully address the spending and institutionalized corruption that is driving us off a cliff, they need to understand this dynamic. And then they need to turn around and make sure the American public understands it too.

And finally, those trying to cut government spending need to stop playing into the hands of their opponents in the political establishment. To use an analogy from Harry Browne, the government is breaking the legs of the most vulnerable people and then handing them a crutch. No successful effort to cut government spending can come from focusing on the crutch. It must center on and prioritize the many government policies that are worsening and even outright causing these problems in the first place.