"Government is not the solution..."

"Government is not the solution, it's the problem."
[Ronald Reagan, Inaugual Address, 20 Jan 1981]

This is still the mantra repeated over and over by conservatives.
After all, St. Reagan said it - it must be true!

Okay - let's see how this plays out.

Imagine you wake up tomorrow and on your drive to work discover:

There are no traffic lights.

There are no stop-signs.

That person in the car ahead - he doesn't have a driver's license!
... Then again, nobody else on the road does, either!
(in fact, he's only 13 years old! - hey, it's a family matter, between him & his parents!)

There's someone driving straight for you in your lane.
Well - no: it's not your lane. There are no lanes.
Anyone can drive anywhere he wants to, in any direction.
You want to drive on the sidewalk? No problem!

Someone just passed you doing 90 in a 30 mph zone!
No, wait: there are no speed zones.
Sorry 'bout that.

That fella comin' head-on for you seems to be weaving a lot?
Is he drunk? Maybe.
Who cares - he's a strong, rugged, patriotic American individualist - no stinkin' government's gonna tell him he can't down a fifth and then take the wheel!

Look on the bright side: we can cut the budget for police by at least half!
(Come to think of it, why the hell do we need police?
I'm a rugged, patriotic American - I don't need no stinkin' police!
That's why I got this fully-automatic AK-47.
Just try f**kin' with me!)

Speed limits? - SOCIALISM!!!

Stop lights? - SOCIALISM!!!

Lanes? - SOCIALISM!!!

Driver's licenses? - SOCIALISM!!!
(the worst kind: a government-issued ID!!!)

DUI laws? -SOCIALISM!!!

Yeah - Government is NEVER the solution!