
Quoting
Taxing Matters
Even added together the license & registration costs (which are those imposed by the government) are not all that much, at least in most states. There are states that impose a property tax also on automobiles, but as those taxes are based on the value of the car, the tax typically isn’t much if the car is not worth a whole lot — like many older cars that a poor person might possibly afford. For most people the biggest mandatory cost of having a car is the auto insurance, and it is the insurance companies that set the rates for that, not the government. These costs are low enough that the vast majority of the public can afford them, indicating that these fees do not pose an unreasonable burden the right to travel nor is there a violation of any other constitutional right. And considering that the fees are necessary to help defray the costs of providing the roads and the various necessary services that go along with it, there isn’t any argument to be made here that the government is simply acting in an effort to prevent citizens from using the roads.
At its heart, your argument basically is that the poor ought to have a right to have their transportation subsidized by the government (and thus paid for by all the other taxpayers). Whether they should have such a right or not is something people can debate but the fact is that the Constitution does not provide any such right. Being poor limits a person in many ways, but it is not the responsibility of the government to cure all the difficulties the poor face. If a person is too poor to afford a car, there are other ways to get around.
You seem to have the mindset that cars are the only realistic mode of transport. Many people think that way because a car is certainly the most convenient mode of transport for most people and, as they can afford it, they don’t really think about alternatives. But the alternatives are there. It may require some effort or some change for the person to utilize those methods, but it can be done. If you live in city, there may be public transportation available. While only a few cities have subways, a number of large and medium size cities have bus systems, light rail, or other mass transit systems available at low cost. They also have extensive sidewalks that can be used to walk places, and many city streets may be used by bicycles as well as cars. Indeed, a number of cities have now started setting up specific bike lanes on the streets to encourage people to bike. In small cities and towns it is quite easy in fact to walk or bike most any place. When I was in high school I lived in a town that quite literally I could walk anywhere in an hour or less; by bike I could get anywhere in very little time. What this means is that if one is too poor to afford a car, he or she has to look at the alternatives and make use of them. Move close to where the jobs are so you can walk or bike to them. Move to a city with public transport. Join a car pool and split the gas cost with other people. Buy a bike and bike to where you need to go. Even a skate board can work. Out in the country you can still use horses or other beasts to get around. The Amish, after all, still do that — not out of necessity, but by choice. Yes, all those things may be more inconvenient and time consuming than getting into a car and driving yourself to where you wish to go. But the Constitution does not guarantee us that we get the most convenient and fastest way to travel if we can’t afford it. Want to go across the country but can’t afford airfare? Take a train or a bus. Or ride a bike. Or even walk. If you think hard and have the will to do it, you likely can find a way. Sure, it may take you a lot longer to do it using some of those methods. But it can, and has been, done.