> How can it be that so many US citizens are without trappings of modern civilization, doomed to live and die in whatever ghetto they were born in?

Yeah, take Manhattan for example. One of those places where it doesn't make sense to have a car, the cost and risk are high and benefits absent. So there are folks who have no drivers licenses for three generations in a row.

Or, perhaps not ghettos but there are people who simply don't want to drive, or can't - for various personal or medical reasons.