I had this to say yesterday regarding politicians methods to soften up the people for tax increases...
Run your memory banks and think of all the times that your state and other states have found themselves with a looming "budget shortfall". The people say NO to tax increases at the outset. The politicians then draw up a plan to reduce spending to avoid having to raise taxes. What services do they say will "need" to be cut to avoid a tax increase? Every time it is fire, police, education, and healthcare. This then gets enough people worried that these services will be cut and they don't want that to happen. The people then relent and accept that taxes must be increased to "save" these services.
From this thread