Maybe not defunded, but STL didn't defund them either. They just didn't hire any new ones, put most of the white ones on a " No trust" list and refused to investigate or prosecute any of their arrests. Literally a video showing a guy getting out of a car, walking up to another car and shooting the driver in the head was made public and Kim Gardner never prosecuted the case, citing lack of evidence. Blue cities all over the country do things like that and no cash bail, "Gun court", etc. An 18 year old black kid gets caught using a gun in a robbery and spends a night in jail, that's it. And when asked about the crime problem the politicians who made that happen blame lax gun laws.
I agree we waste trillions of dollars a year on dumb shit, but you are cherry picking the shit YOU think is a waste. Billions of dollars in foreign aid and foreign DEI programs, but I don't see any of that in your hit list up there ? Just the usual leftists fare, Defense spending and bills to steal less money than you would like from rich people. Public education has been "Properly funded" for years and on average kids are exponentially more stupid now than they were when the NEA was created. Quit sending our tax money to Ukraine or Israel or anywhere outside of the country and use that money to improve the lives of Americans who are willing to work for it. Giving that money to the people you guys claim to be advocating for has done nothing except perpetuate the welfare state. These blue cities like St. Louis haven't elected a republican in 60 years and routinely pander to minorities. Those minorities are more impoverished than ever. That's not the solution.