I had the privelege of visiting Smokey Mountains National park a few weeks ago. The Federal government and the citizens of the region raised money to buy the land to preserve it for future generations, including me. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the overlook, where I stood to admire the magnificent scenery and the rest room we used before hitting the road. They were young men who learned job skills and essential values while earning money to help their families and they built to last! That is what the government can do when they see themselves as our government, representing all the people, not just special interests or big corporations.

Leaving that magnificence we found ourselves in Pigeon Forge, which used to be a quiet little mountain town, and is now a tourist mecca, with some of the most spectacular gridlock I have ever had the misfortune to endure. What should have been a 15 minute drive took 2 hours. We crawled past miniature golf courses, go cart tracks, motels, cheesy souvenir shops. They created that traffic nightmare, but nobody will do anything about it, because they also "create jobs". Those jobs are, mostly, poorly paid and seasonal. But in the economy we've endured since 1980, creating any sort of job is considered a public service.
In due time the tax payers of Pigeon Forge will pay to fix that hellish gridlock. The local businesses will insist on it, and they won't contribute towards fixing it, because they create jobs.
That is what business does when nobody watches them.