Every person who rides light rail is (potentially) one less driver on the road.  I guess since I don't use rail/buses, we don't need them.  We can sell them all and let the users drive everywhere (we have TONS of space on the roads to accommodate them). I haven't ever had a fire at my house either, so I guess we can get rid of the fire department too.  I went to private schools as a kid, so I guess the state owes my parents money they paid in taxes which were used for public schools?  Just because you cannot see beyond your own two feet doesn't mean that the things happening around you affect you in some way.  The fire department is there so that a fire can be stopped or at least prevented from spreading.  A poor child who gets a "government" funded education could go on to be a surgeon who saves your (or a loved ones) live. We, as a society, are STRONGER when we work together (it is easy to break 100 branches one at a time, but bundle them together and try).