Al-Sisi's reforms target two of the primary factors dragging the Egyptian economy down: massive subsidies and crushing debt. Prior to the reforms, Egypt spent more on fuel subsidies than on education, health and infrastructure combined. In 2013, some 22 percent of the budget (equivalent to 7 percent of the country's GDP) went toward fuel subsidies , while an additional 8 percent of the budget funded electricity subsidies. Along with food subsidies, these programs have contributed to a significant depletion of Cairo's financial resources. The solution to this problem is clear: Remove or reduce subsidies. However, al-Sisi's predecessors — the interim Supreme Council of the Armed Forces government and former President Mohammed Morsi — never had the political capital needed to relax subsidies.