Think about what it means to be rich. It isn't simply having more money. What it really means is having more options.
Because the rich have more options, they are the ones who can fly on a private jet, or first class, or sail on a yacht, or have a full-time car chauffeur.
America has essentially made it a societal goal to allow 100% of the adult population to drive. What a disaster this has been. Maybe cars should revert to being toys of the rich once again.
If you think that automobiles represent unbridled freedom, you're mistaken.
Cars take away freedom from people who don't drive. Ask about how the car-centric environment degrades the experience of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders.
Having been to less-carbrained countries like Japan, I really enjoyed the freedom to take trains everywhere instead of the American so-called freedom to drive everywhere.
I'm all for freedom, but we need to be careful when analyzing how one person's freedom (e.g. to smoke) diminishes another person's freedom (e.g. clean air).
Moreover, everything about the cost of driving is regressive: https://cityobservatory.org/ten-things-more-inequitable-that...