It would be interesting to see if the politicians ALL took cuts, if there were any social welfare programs that were "last in/first out" of the money trail and whatever else was done BEFORE they decided to cut the police & fire-fighting force...and even there...how many "supervisors" do cops and firefighters need?
Better yet, keeping the lower-paid and retiring the higher-grade should have been the way to trim.
And...have a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude about the crime situation might improve the level of respect for law and order...then maybe...not.
Besides...where, in any constitution, does it say that a city/state/county/municiple employee, union or not, is guaranteed a "lifetime" job with benefits (working and retired) that exceed even private industry standards?
Drop the bennies and start putting back into the tax base like everyone else...then maybe some sensible budgeting will rear its "ugly head" and come to the forefront.