Many fire and police departments are facing lay-offs right now. It seems cities have not been fiscally responsible and safety forces get the boot first. I wouldn’t call that effective governing. Also, have the person you’re arguing with assess the current condition of the roads he/she drives on. They are in great shape, right? So that gubmint program doesn’t work so well either. All of these examples are based on tax payers throwing money into the pot and then that money is redistributed to make our society better/safer.
Talk about roads and such infrastructure is a point of contention with me since I am in the transportation industry.
All the government would have to do is keep taxes collected by us (transportation industry) separate from the general fund and our infrastructure would be fine.
If you consider the fuel taxes, license, federal excise taxes, and 2290 (Federal Highway Use Tax), our roads should NEVER be in bad shape. (Don’t forget tolls.)