[matt04]

if government's purpose isn't to improve the health and longevity of its citizens, I don't know what its purpose is

Let me give you a hint. The role of a city government is to maintain public infrastructure, provide police/fire/public safety services, etc. That's about it.

[ichabod1]

Right. We view that ‘public safety services’ thing to mean we can do anything we think is a good idea.