Originally Posted by
WillCAD
"Pay more, get more" is perfectly acceptable in regards to the voluntary purchase of goods or services from an individual or business.
However, "Pay more, get more" is completely UNACCEPTABLE in regards to Constitutionally-protected civil rights, such as freedom of movement, freedom of association, and equal protection under the law.
The government is essentially charging you to keep your 4th Amendment rights less violated (not UN, just LESS), and in the process it gathers personal data about you via coercion that it has no right to collect by force.
You are omitting the fact that Pre-Check requires a background check and an ongoing DHS link to one's tickets on a per use basis.
While the people on FT tend to pass that background check, it is likely the case that higher risk people do not bother to apply or, when they apply and are rejected, do not whine about it on FT or elsewhere.
The arguments made here about privilege only apply if the service is available to all willing to shell out the fee. That was the argument made about "premium" lines back when those were still meaningful and it is why TSA got out of the business of policing them.