A Fable of Rusty Railings

I have been wanting to post this ever since Polling Day was announced. The estate that I lived in was going through a very 'coincidental' renovation when this struck me. The Town Council had informed us that a 'renovation' or 'upgrading' would be carried out. Concrete screeds and tiles will be replaced together with a new coat of paint to 'freshen' up the estate. After the 'renovation', I noticed:

Tiles were replaced with ones of the exact same design and colour. And the 'old' tiles were actually fitted not more than 2 years ago. The finishings on the concrete screeds and the paint jobs were poorly done. You can see the rough edges and sloppy strokes.

Worst of all, this railing outside my flat.

What is the point of trying to paint something that has rusted so badly??? Shouldn't it be replaced? Just like the organisation that used OUR money to do such a screwed job, "no matter how many layers of paint you use to cover it, the rotten core will show itself eventually".