Oh, come on, that's just confirmation bias. Our government solves lots of problems. A few counter-examples:
People love Medicare. It helps keep old sick people from financial ruin. That's a good thing.
Lots of banks have failed in the last few years, but government-run programs (FDIC, mostly) keep the fallout from damaging citizens.
The United States is home to many world-class research institutions, many of which receive government grants.
Bernie Madoff was running a huge ponzi scheme to defraud investors, but was eventually caught, by the government, and sent to prison.
The military and US AID have helped save lives and assist in reconstruction of post-earthquake Haiti.
FAA regulators have made air travel extremely safe.
NHTSA and other regulators have improved the safety of cars and saved countless lives.
The Parks department has conserved millions of acres of winderness for people to enjoy for generations.
The Endangered Species Act has literally saved species from disappearing from the planet.
The National Science Foundation helps fund RadioLab, the best thing on the radio.
