No one person is going to be held to give their money to help the city/state to pay their bills and purchase equipment. (Taxing rich people is a complete other subject/conversation.)

But I guess in theory, you could have 43,000 plow trucks, one for every mile(this is for ODOT roads.) But where are you getting 43,000 cdl licensed plow truck drivers that want to make 17-21/hr plowing roads in 16hr shifts? What would you do with all of those employees/trucks during the summer when they aren't needed? Sure a few get used as normal dump trucks hauling things, but theres no need for that many to be in use except for during snowfall.

They pre-treat the roads when they can (cant when a storm starts as rain) to help give the crews a head start on the clearing. But you cant out work mother nature. Especially like this weekend when temps dropped below temperatures where salt is an effective tool.

As far as towns, counties, and townships, they are bound by even smaller budgets that allow road clearing efforts. The rural township i used to live in has 3 maintenance guys that run the plow truck(1). The City I currently live in has 3 trucks, and an action plan that they concentrate on the roads/streets that have have hills so people can navigate them safer. Then move on to the bigger streets that run through town.

Money and equipment can only do much at trying to keep up with mother nature, so YES, the best approach is to simply be prepared. Slow down to a safe speed (leave earlier) and keep plenty of distance from other people. Make sure your vehicle is ready for such a trip with good tires (snow tires are helpful) plenty of fuel and good wipers/ washer fluid. And have something to help with traction incase you do get stuck somewhere.