Cost of government can be reduced by lowering gov't salaries and getting rid of slave countries. The more slaves you have, the more money you have to pay for gov't. As far as cutting salaries, the higher your gov't salaries, the more personal income taxes your citizens have to pay, so you actually get a return on those.
Your costs for ed and health will never go below the income. It's just an expense you will have to endure. To have a top notch health and ed system, you have to be willing to pony up some money. The easiest expense to control is your military. If you have a deficit, start selling some of that stuff, it'll help. It'll also help reduce gov't cost by eliminating gov't jobs.