The street light near my home has been broken for three weeks. I have to hold my phone for light when going out at night, and an elderly neighbor even fell here last week.
I called the city hotline three times. The first time, they said “it’ll be fixed next week”; the second time, they passed the buck to “the power company”; the third time, no one answered. Passing the community office yesterday, I saw staff drinking coffee and chatting inside. When I mentioned the street light, they said “funding hasn’t been approved yet”.
But last month, the downtown area just got new decorative lights—so bright they hurt your eyes at night. Garbage collection in our neighborhood is always delayed too. In summer, trash cans overflow, and the stench fills the whole street. Complaints do nothing.
The fence around my son’s school playground has a big hole. Kids keep running out, but the teacher said “we reported it half a year ago, no response”. Meanwhile, lawmakers argue on TV every day about “cutting taxes for big corporations”—no one mentions our street lights, trash, or schools.
We don’t ask for much: safe nights out, a clean neighborhood, and peace of mind when our kids go to school. Why is no one dealing with these small things? It seems the government’s money only goes to putting on a show, never reaching regular people like us.
