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I see your point, but I don't completely agree. I used to live in Boston with my husband and young child until last year (then we moved away for work). Yes, there are definitely homeless people in Boston, but I always felt safe visiting the public parks in my neighborhood, and the public transit was great (until COVID f***ed things up). So, it's an exaggeration to say that all Democratic-run cities are wretched hives of crime and homelessness.

Still, I definitely agree with you that we (= Democrats/liberals) should work hard to make city life more appealing to people, and quality-of-life issues (crime, homelessness, trash, petty vandalism) are a big part of that. Cities should be beautiful and appealing to live in, like the great cities of Europe, where I was born.

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With regard to my comment above, this kind of response is much more persuasive because it acknowledges my concerns as valid and agrees that they need addressing.

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I don't know where Buttonmasher is from, but for a myriad of reasons, homelessness is just a big issue on the West Coast to a degree it is not elsewhere. For example, a 2017 study found that only 5% of homeless people in New York were unsheltered, but 68% are in California. Thus the local experience with "the homeless" is going to be totally different.

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