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incendiary_dan's avatar

Is it still a "right" if you have to pay for it?

Asked by incendiary_dan (13300 points ) October 1st, 2011

Say you have rights guaranteed by the Constitution or some other overarching document, but local government imposes fees in order to take part in the right supposedly protected by that document or law. (Ignore that in a country with such income disparity, the level at which we can actively take part in these rights is determined by access to capital.) If you have to pay just to take part, is it really a protect right any more? Or is it a privilege at that point? Is the fee akin to polling taxes used historically to keep certain groups from voting?

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