Every time a union or individual pushes for pay-increases, more hours, more jobs, etc., this money is being sought to buy all these things you say you're not asking anyone to buy for you. If greater taxes and fees were levied on fuel, roads, or any other aspect of the motor-vehicle economy, those costs would get passed on to consumers in the form of prices and tax-payers in the form of taxes and fees. AS LONG AS DRIVING IS UBIQUITOUS, WE ARE ALL PAYING FOR IT COLLECTIVELY. There is no way to LCF in a driving-dependent economy without the money you spend and taxes you pay going toward supporting driving.

If the government allowed the economy to crash without bailing it out and stimulating it to grow, people would be forced to make hard budget choices that include giving up driving. One notable phenomenon in US culture is that people will often live homeless out of a car rather than give up their car in order to avoid living homeless. If the economy remained tight enough to force people to choose between shelter and driving, people would eventually seek affordable shelter in areas where they could live without driving. Automotive interests know this and that is why they support artificial growth in periods where recession threatens to make people choose between shelter and driving.

Until this pattern stops, the automotive fleet is no different from transit in terms of asking others to pay its expenses. We are all paying for the automotive fleet and all its costs because we aren't given the choice to say no to bailing it out and stimulating its growth.