While the first sentence helpfully has a footnote, it does not actually cite anything.  Unfortunately, the second footnote lends no more actual factual basis to this argument either.  The wikipedia article linked to uses equally vague generalities and has a similar pessimism towards elected officials -- it cites two articles from the NRO and a pretty bad article from the LA Weekly.  This comment is a conjecture -- one that assumes the worst in our public servants, and which does not actually cite evidence that people behave that way.<p>In fact, to show the lack of rigor in the argument, the point he makes could apply equally well to a business: "It's not unusual" for a shafted department head to try to cripple his unit (on paper or in practice) to demonstrate the vital need to have his budget restored in the next year.  Sounds just as plausible!<p>or, to use the same rhetorical technique to make the opposite point:<p>I would argue that "it's not unusual" for the city officials to make their cuts to cause the _minimum_ pain possible, on the grounds that they want to be re-elected.