Having lived in Colo Springs for several years, this is a tactic that was used frequently in the 1990's. Colorado had an amendment (don't know if they still do) that required voter approval of any tax increase, so EVERY election, there would be dire stories of how the major government jobs would suffer, and then maybe a week or two later, a civic group against tax hikes would show how other, non essential jobs were being spared and in the end the tax hikes usually failed, and the city continued on with no rampaging crime as a result. It's actually not a bad place to live. Just no oceans
