I don’t think you get what I was saying. I’m not debating the definition of the word “fee.”
I’m saying that in most states in the USA, there’s often a fee for many things that can get gotten completely for free if you prove your income is low enough.
So I guess you could say you “pay a fee” of the extra time and hassle to prove your low income. But for something like a state ID, for instance, you can get one absolutely free (no money paid) if your income is low enough.
If you are unable to afford the fee for a state id then you would be considered indigent and would be able to get some kind of waver for the fee.
So something is only a fee if you can’t afford it?
Reverse. It’s only a fee if you can afford it. If you can’t afford it, it’s free.
Technically you still paid money, j just not a meaningful amount compared to your total.
I don’t think you get what I was saying. I’m not debating the definition of the word “fee.”
I’m saying that in most states in the USA, there’s often a fee for many things that can get gotten completely for free if you prove your income is low enough.
So I guess you could say you “pay a fee” of the extra time and hassle to prove your low income. But for something like a state ID, for instance, you can get one absolutely free (no money paid) if your income is low enough.
I did misunderstand. You were responding to
Which I understood in the general case. Like I’ve heard of rich jerks that park illegally because the fee isn’t enough to bother them.
Ah yes. “If you’re rich, nothing is illegal, there’s just a fee”
That’s definitely a thing, but something different.