"You pay auto insurance because you choose to own a car."

Your analogy only goes so far - for people such as yourself living in a city like Boston with excellent public transportation (except for today with the blizzard of course) not having a car is a reasonable and in many cases preferred option. But for most people in this country having a car is a necessity. Making your argument is a whole lot easier if you live in a city like Boston, which in this case is the exception to the rule.