Agree. But he is helped a lot more by the people who got to "cut" the line (people who chose to pay to increase the efficiency) before he got there, making the line shorter in the first place. The experience of standing in line should begin when you arrive at the line. Much shorter line that moves a little slower vs Much longer line that moves a little faster. One might fail to give proper value to the shorter line present when one arrives in the first place because 1.The Clears are not in it, and 2. A better staffed ID check has processed more people per minute than before he even arrived at the line.

In the end, having Clear processes more people per minute through the bottleneck of the ID Check / BP scan than not having Clear does. Because Clear members pay to make it that way. Therefore, with Clear, the shorter line that moves a little slower for the regular PreCheck pax wins because the bottleneck is more efficient due to the help from the Clear staff.

Before taking issue about people "cutting" right in front of him, remember that he benefits more from the people who "cut" before he even arrived to the line. One has no problem benefiting from that "cutting" because one never witnesses it, and then they fail to weigh it against the pain of a short period of witnessed "cutting" that happens near the finish line.

When there is a paid upgrade to efficiency, people who pay benefit. In this case, people who don't pay also benefit, but less so compared to the control case of no Clear at all.

Now this matters less if they constantly have to stop checking ID's and wait because the baggage screening is understaffed. But that is a TSA issue, not a Clear issue.