Nope, still reality; there are other factors you're apparently not taking into account.
It breaks down to a question of whether there is, in fact, fraud (if so, is it enough to cover the shortfall at each level?), how each governing body defines waste (again, does it cover the shortfall at each level?) and what level of functionality the public -displeased or not- is willing to accept.
Yes, enacting new/raising existing taxes puts a ballot box shaped target on politicians' backs (they've known it all along -it's one of the reasons politicians spend so much time passing essentially meaningless, busy-work legislation rather than tackling the tough problems, effecting real-world change); by that same token, (another thing they've known all along) so does sacrificing quality of education (reads as "a favored public program") over raising taxes. And that's the catch; if a legislature wants to maintain its electability without raising taxes or sacrificing quality of education, it's obligated to re-allocate funds which means taking it from other programs. But that also earns a ballot box shaped target.
Which programs? Infrastructure? That results in unpatched potholes, broken sidewalks left unrepaired, underfunded municipal water systems, under- or unmaintained traffic control systems, etc. If from law enforcement, that's layoffs, mothballed/auctioned cruisers, reduced upkeep at stations, jails, reduced patrolling & police coverage, reduced municipal offices' & courts' security. Hazard and/or emergency services, ambulance, fire & rescue? Same issue only worse; it could literally mean the difference between having EMS, fire & rescue or not. If from administration, that's also layoffs, reduced public service availability, reduced court session hours which feeds back into the jails issue, creates more problems by guaranteeing higher housing costs due to longer pre-trial detention, risks violating the 6A, resultant lawsuits).
All of this effectively means that even if disfavored legislators are voted out -whether for increasing taxes or sending a municipality into entropic shock by vamping funds from other programs to close the gap- the next batch is going to come in, assess the situation and most likely do nothing because their job is to keep things running as smoothly as can be managed within available means. And the cycle repeats because government generally operates as a holding action comprised of a series of bandaids slapped over known-rate decay.