When playing blackjack...?

i want to know why the books tell you to hit your 16 against a dealers 17 or more. (when the up card is 7 or more) When the dealer gets a 16 we cant wait for them to hit because we want them to bust... why would we take the chance on busting, when if we play it safe, wouldn't we at least have the chance to stay in the game.?? this never made sense to me if a dealer has a good chance at busting, we would too right???