prodigal1 wrote:
You're missing the point entirely. Licensing has little to do with
safety and everything to do with a chain of "accountability" in the
event of an accident. It isn't about "corrupt politicians" out to get
your money...good god what drivel -I know- you didn't write that. It's
about the insurance companies! Who has to pay when someone gets
injured/killed/sued. No license=No insurance=personal liability

I'd agree that lack of personal responsibility is a big part
of the problem... and requiring a license isn't going to
restore that.

Instead, let's just enforce existing laws to the full extent.

Rule 1 has always been 'don't screw up.' That means, learn
how before you start... pay attention to what you're doing...
But we have several generations of Americans wandering
around loose who genuinely expect the world to be a
no-skill-required place, and "learning how" is an alien concept.

For example, driving drunk... bad idea. But simply driving a
car while intoxicated is not the problem, the problem is
that drunks cause wrecks. So instead of setting the cops to
chase drunks, have them & the courts maximally punish drunks
who cause wrecks... along with every other driver who has a
wreck too. And (here's the important part) publicize the
results, so that everybody *knows* that if you have a wreck,
drunk or not, it's your ass in a sling in a big way... no
maybes, no excuses, no "we'll let you off this time because
you're remorseful." That would focus the mind of every
driver, drunk or sober, on driving carefully & defensively.

But hey, what a crazy idea... try ing to teach people to be
responsible for their actions... it'll never work.

DSK