I live in Montgomery County, Maryland, often referred to as the People’s Republic of Montgomery County. It contains the suburbs to the northwest of Washington D.C. while Prince Georges County, Maryland has those to the northeast and Fairfax County, Virginia has those to the south. Traffic congestion in the entire area is absolutely horrendous. I have not been to Los Angeles since I was twelve but I find it hard to imagine anyplace worse then here.

Now, whenever someone is extolling the virtues of government they invariably mention roads. However, it seems the Montgomery County Council does not see the snail’s pace traffic in the area as its responsibility. They have passed an ordinance which will fine all county businesses with 50 or more employees $75 a day if they fail to come up with “traffic mitigation plans” by January first (those with less than 50 have until next January).

A friend of mine has a much better plan to ease the congestion. He suggests the legislative and executive offices of Montgomery County be moved to Fairfax County, while those in Fairfax County be relocated in Prince Georges County and those in that county be shifted to Montgomery County. Once the legislators and bureaucrats have to deal with the results of their negligence on a daily basis, improvements will swiftly follow.