ozplane
Unfortunately, you are at the bottom of the tree in terms of what the regulators care about. You carrying Mode S has little to do with protecting you...it is about protecting other, more important, airspace users from you.
It has to do with TCAS alerts, decreasing both false positives and false negatives, and being able to offer transport pilots advisory action to avoid you.
The trouble is, according to the regulators, you just cannot be trusted to remain clear of controlled airspace, either laterally or horizontally.
Unfortunately, on this latter point the regulators are proved right far to often for comfort.
The best thing that light aircraft pilots can do to protect their rights to free flight outside controlled airspace unhampered by what they see as unnecessary equipment is to do everything they can to stop themselves and others penetrating CA without a clearances.
Timothy