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It's only to assure the accused comes back to face the charges. It isn't a penalty. Otherwise, the thinking goes, the defendant will have no reason to come back and face the court. This was probably extra true around the time of the founding of the US, when someone could more easily slip away and start a new life
If it's not not based on ability to pay, it can't possibly work like you describe. Instead poor people get stuck in jail because they can't pay, and rich people never set foot in jail because the bond is pocket change to them. From what I gather, that's exactly how it works in practice, so it's really just a system to give special treatment to rich people and punish poor people who haven't been convicted of a crime.
In a practical sense, it does work as you say, and can prevent the poor from obtaining bail. The system wasn't explicitly designed that way, and rich people who are dangerous to the community can get super high bail set as well. Source: I'm a lawyer
But then that does make it into a penalty.
Sure, for all practical purposes it can be, but unlike a penalty like a speeding ticket, you can get your money back if you show up.