Comment by robswc
7 hours ago
Oh for sure, just ask the residents of Austin if they feel services have improved over the last 10, 20 years! I imagine there will be quite a bit of bias and "rose-tinted glasses" but generally speaking I don't think they feel the price tag is reflective of the services they're getting. On that note, not sure why people seem to think of governments as some sort of subscription they pay for and get services in return... but perhaps that is a discussion for another day :)
Don’t ask them.
Look at actual metrics. People are notoriously awful at doing complex analysis of things like level of service across multiple domains across a long time frame while personal life transitions happen.
I also think that most people have no idea what they are getting for their money. Exclusive of policing (the huge majority of city budgets), cities are actually extraordinarily good at keeping things running in my experience. Most people have no appreciation for what it takes to keep the sewers flowing, roads paved and the traffic lights on. Anyone who has ever lived somewhere where road maintenance or garbage is privately handled will tell you how much cheaper and easier it is to have that handled by government.