Okay, pick another example of licensure to protect natural resources, since we probably won’t be able to get away from the “cars are dangerous” distraction.
Take fishing licenses, for example. Catching undersized lobster can net someone thousands in fines and possible jail time. Is this okay? If we seize their boat and traps, is that enough to guarantee they won’t do it again and discourage copycats?
> so that the general public can use spectrum it legitimately owns
One of the things covered in the license material you seem to feel is unnecessary is that amateur operators are secondary users on many bands and do not have an exclusive right to use those frequencies. Both the 33cm ISM band (900 MHz) and the 13cm band (2.4 GHz) are shared with unlicensed applications in a similar way to what you describe. If you want to use VHF, grab a MURS radio. UHF? Pick up an FRS radio. While those services do not overlap with amateur frequencies, it’s the same experience. What exactly are unlicensed users missing out on?