Boulder...My maternal grandparents lived there from 1945 until their deaths in 2010 and 2011.  My paternal grandparents settled there for good in 1964 (one is still living). My parents are BHS graduates, as are several aunts, uncles, and cousins. None of the aforementioned people, in my time on the planet, ever once complained about having lived under a Chinese-communist style repressive system. They were free to pursue their education and gainful employment, come and go from the city as they pleased, eat where they wanted, and hold whatever opinions they desired. My paternal grandpa was known to call into Alan Berg way back in the day.  No one from the BPD ever showed up at his house to arrest him for not having the right opinion. I've never seen someone get flattened by an army tank in Boulder. As a matter of fact, I bet you would like to see city law enforcement bash protestors...

In short, if you want to compare the two, you need to have more than just pop taxes and safe zones.