Between a rock and a hard place

I spent the day yesterday trying to bail my son out of one of those terrible positions society sometimes puts young people into. His car had been impounded for expired registration. He was pulled over literally around the corner from his house, and even though he actually begged the police officer not to impound, just to ticket and let him go home and fix it, the officer swore at him, called him names and took the car. He had committed no moving violations, wasn't guilty of any other crime, and certainly wasn't DUI, so he called the officer's superior, and was told that he was correct, it shouldn't have been impounded but he still had to pay the fees etc.
The problem was never that he wouldn't register it, he would have been happy to, the problem was that he couldn''t, because he couldn't get the rotor off to replace the brake pad, it was rusted on. Therefore the car wouldn't pass safety even though the brakes were working fine. He had spent a full day off here at my house trying to remove the rotor, and just ended up with a broken bolt for his trouble - you know, the ones that hold the wheel on. Now he needed the bolt drilled out and replaced too. He had called a brake shop but was told that he could never bring it in after work, even though he is sometimes off as early as 3pm, he needed to bring it in early in the day and leave it all day. But he couldn't do that, he needs it to work and he can't afford to miss a day. And he really couldn't afford to pay to have the work done.
He has searched, this boy, and been unable to find any place he can rent for less than $600 a month. (and that gets him a tiny, crumby little apartment he can barely move around in with no off street parking.) At barely over minimum wage he cannot live without a roommate, and even with, food has nearly doubled in the last few months and gas, well we all know about gas. He uses his car to work (cleans carpets for a living but the employer doesn't provide transportation) so he has to have a car, and regardless he would have to get to work.
I've seen it before. They need to register a car, but can't afford to, or can't afford to do the work on the car needed to register. So they are driving, or parking with an expired registration. They don't want to break the law, they just can't afford to comply. So the state, in it's infinate wisdom, tickets them, and if they don't pay the ticket in a certain amount of time, because they simply can't afford to, the fine doubles, then triples and keeps going up from there. They can never get out from under without help!
So, I helped. We paid the registration fee, and a late fee, and an impound fee and a towing fee, and a storage fee and then the necessary repairs to make it pass inspection. All this on a little old car that ran pretty well before. Registration alone would have cost $86. Altogether it cost over $1000 to make a car worth not more than $500 "road worthy" in the eyes of the state. Yet we couldn't let it just sit there, the fees will still keep piling up. Even if you give the car to the state you have to pay the towing and storage and impound fees. (And then you don't have any car!)
My son will be working for me for every day off for months trying to pay me back. Don't you just love government?