What is wrong with government in one sentence

WASHINGTON -

President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought our government only existed to represent us (US citizens) and help solve larger social issues that individuals couldn't solve themselves. Assuming that is true-and again, help me out if I am mistaken-shouldn't the solution to a problem for US citizens be the only goal of the US government since it is it's sole purpose of existence? I concede that reality is never as clean a machine as theories are on paper and that this fact seriously undermines the actual reaching of solutions, but isn't that what politics are? Wikipedia defines politics as the process and method of making decisions for groups. First off, it's worth noting that there's no distinction between the quality of the decisions being made. Making horrible decisions for the group is still politics.

Here is where I start talking about intentions. Intentions are important. It's one thing if someone slaps you in the face because you have just been fired from your job and are suffering such severe panic as to be hyperventilating, hiccuping and sobbing simultaneously and they feel a good slap in the face is just what you need, but it is quite a different story if someone slaps you in the face because they are hoping that seeing you in pain will make them feel better about themselves. Sure, in both instances you have a face that is red and swollen but in only one of the cases was the other person well intentioned.

Although this does not change the current situation of your face, it changes all future situations drastically. Once the well-intentioned person realizes that the slap, in fact, did not work as well as intended, they know now that they will need to try something different next time. The next try might not work any better, but eventually something will and that person will have successfully helped you. The ill-intentioned person, however, has not only slapped you in the face this time, but as long as they are only taking into account their own well-being, there is no guarantee that eventually that person will stop slapping you in the face.

What are the intentions of our politicians? Are they making decisions for us or for themselves? Can we expect to eventually stop getting slapped in the face?