History Main / InsistsOnPaying

Authority figures, especially of the benevolent kind, have an unusual life. Everywhere they go, even though they have a good income and some may even be rich, restaurant owners and store owners offer them items for free. But, since they're benevolent, they feel bad about taking citizens' goods and services for free, and they loudly insist on paying for meals and such.

TruthInTelevision with policemen being offered freebies. Unless you're dealing with a DirtyCop, who will demand free meals and services.

Wealthy authority figures, especially of the benevolent kind, have an unusual life. Everywhere they go, even though they are rich, restaurant owners and store owners offer items for free. But, since they're benevolent, they feel bad about taking citizens' goods and services for free, and they loudly insist on paying for meals and such.

Authority figures, especially of the benevolent kind, have a hard life. Everywhere they go they are offered stuff for free. But, since they're benevolent, they feel bad about robbing innocent citizens of their income, and loudly insist on paying for meals and such.

TruthInTelevision with policemen being offered freebies.

** Jerry's parents flat-out refuse to believe that he makes anything remotely resembling a decent amount of money as a comedian. This leads to huge arguments between Jerry and his father Morty whenever they are together, as ''both'' of them insist on paying for everything: Morty because he thinks Jerry is perpetually broke, and Jerry because he wants to prove to his parents that he is far from it. On one occasion Morty even insisted on paying for a meal even after his wallet had been stolen, leading him to plead to have his credit and good word accepted as payment by the restaurant's exasperated owner (who was just baffled why he didn't simply let his son pay).

* In the U.S., there are strict laws regarding gifts to government employees, in order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. So any government employee who receives a "thing of value" from a representative of a company, another government, etc. is expected to either turn it down outright, or pay a fair price for it. How often such things are ''actually'' paid for (especially, say, food at a lunch meeting) depends on several factors.

** In Genesis chapter 23, Abraham's wife Sarah dies, and Abraham talks to the people of Heth about giving him a place to bury his dead. The people of Heth insist on giving him the choicest of burial sites — the cave of Machpelah — for his wife without having to pay anything for it since they consider him a prince among their people, but Abraham insists on purchasing the property. They finally settle on four hundred shekels of silver, which is what Abraham ended up paying, and it became the only site in the Promised Land permanently deeded to Abraham and his descendants, as Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob are eventually buried there as well.
** When God told King David to go to the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 to build an altar to the Lord, David tells Araunah that he wants to purchase the threshing floor. Araunah was willing to give the threshing floor and the oxen and the wood free of charge to the king, but King David insists on buying the property, saying that he would not make sacrifices to the Lord with offerings that cost him nothing. In the book of 1st Chronicles (which repeats the same story), the threshing floor becomes the site for the future Temple that King David's son Solomon would build during his reign.

* In ''VideoGame/RabiRibi'', the shopkeeper Miriam offers to give Erina whatever she wants for free since her business is doing well and they're friends, but Erina insists on paying for them like a regular person, since [[BalefulPolymorph she was a bunny before the story starts]], even after Miriam offers to give her a discount instead. If you don't have enough currency to buy an item, Miriam will offer to give it to you for free, but the game won't actually allow you to take it without paying.

* Captain Carrot of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' does this. Subverted in that they only offer him free stuff because they know he'll refuse. Averted with the other members of the Watch, particularly Fred Colon, who takes all the free meals he can get. Taken UpToEleven in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'', where Mr Sock the butcher tries to offload a seemingly unreliable and possibly dangerous golem onto him, and is told this could be interpreted as a bribe. Mr Sock then tries to inflate the price, if Carrot is actually prepared to ''pay'' for it, but quickly learns that GoodIsNotDumb. He gets a dollar.

* In ''VideoGame/RabiRibi'', the shopkeeper Miriam offers to give Erina whatever she wants for free since her business is doing well and they're friends, but Erina insists on paying for them like a regular person, even after Miriam offers to give her a discount instead. If you don't have enough currency to buy an item, Miriam will offer to give it to you for free, but the game won't actually allow you to take it without paying.

* Subverted in ''Series/{{Friends}}'', where Monica ''does'' accept free steaks (and an eggplant) from the new meat suppliers to the restaurant where she works, considering them a gift. She ends up being fired over it since the owners of the restaurant wrongly interpreted it as a bribe (Monica had been recently promoted to a job which included selecting the meat supplier).

* Wrestling/AndreTheGiant famously refused to let anyone else pay for his meals at restaurants (given his size and appetite, on top of prodigious amounts of liquor, they tended to be very expensive). Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger once attempted to pay behind Andre's back, but Andre caught him, picked him up, and firmly sat him back down at the table, saying "I pay."

* In ''Videogame/{{Mother3}}'' Fassad insists on paying for his stay in Tazmily's inn even though the village has no concept of money and the innkeeper is willing to let him stay without asking anything in return. This is a negative example of the trope since Fassad is rejecting their hospitality in favor of making it a cold transaction. It's all part of his efforts to corrupt Tazmily.

-->--VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI

* Captain Carrot of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' does this. Subverted in that they only offer him free stuff because they know he'll refuse. Averted with the other members of the Watch, particularly Fred Colon, who takes all the free meals he can get.

* ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'': Bandit stops at a restaurant for lunch, then Sheriff Justice shows up not knowing he's standing next to the Bandit, the man he's been chasing since Texas. After some banter, Bandit pays for Justice's lunch ("I insist. I'd be honored").

[[folder: Advertising ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the short story ''Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones'', "Singers" are people with very special talents who are known world wide. There are only about 20 or so in the world. Hawk the Singer always attempts to pay for things before someone just gives it to him. He explains to the protagonist that the day he stops attempting to pay or stops acting surprised at getting something for free is the day he will have to start paying.

* Steve Carella (and, by extension, every honest cop) in the ''Literature/EightySeventhPrecinct'' novels. In one novel, he is offered theatre tickets to a hit musical and notes that as a cop you can either accept nothing that is offered to you, or everything: there is no middle ground. (He does take the tickets, but pays market price for them after first establishing that these are reserve tickets that would have been on sale to the general public before the show, so there can be no question of him being done special favours.)

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Subverted in ''Series/{{Friends}}'', where Monica ''does'' accept free steaks (and an eggplant) from the new meat suppliers to the restaurant where she works, considering them a gift. She ends up being fired over it, since the owners of the restaurant wrongly interpreted it as a bribe (Monica had been recently promoted to a job which included selecting the meat supplier).

[[folder: Mythology & Religion]]

** In Genesis chapter 23, Abraham's wife Sarah dies, and Abraham talks to the people of Heth about giving him a place to bury his dead. The people of Heth insist on giving him the choicest of burial sites — the cave of Machpelah — for his wife without having to pay anything for it, since they consider him a prince among their people, but Abraham insists on purchasing the property. They finally settle on four hundred shekels of silver, which is what Abraham ended up paying, and it became the only site in the Promised Land permanently deeded to Abraham and his descendants, as Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob are eventually buried there as well.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''Videogame/{{Mother3}}'' Fassad insists on paying for his stay in Tazmily's inn even though the village has no concept of money and the innkeeper is willing to let him stay without asking anything in return. This is a negative example of the trope, since Fassad is rejecting their hospitality in favor of making it a cold transaction. It's all part of his efforts to corrupt Tazmily.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* One of the fights between Peter and the Giant Chicken in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is put on hold as the two realize they forgot ''why'' they keep fighting whenever they meet each other, and so the Chicken takes Peter out to dinner with his wife to apologize. They get into an argument over who's paying, until eventually they're fighting all over again.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

** Jerry's parents flat-out refuse to believe that he makes anything remotely resembling a decent amount of money as a comedian. This leads to huge arguments between Jerry and his father Morty whenever they are together, as ''both'' of them insist on paying for everything: Morty because he thinks Jerry is perpetually broke, and Jerry because he wants to prove to his parents that he is far from it.

* Captain Carrot of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' does this. Subverted in that they only offer him free stuff because they know he'll refuse.
** Averted with the other members of the Watch, particularly Fred Colon, who takes all the free meals he can get.

** When God told King David to go to the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 to build an altar to the Lord, David tells Araunah that he wants to purchase the threshing floor. Araunah was willing to give the threshing floor and the oxen and the wood free of charge to the king, but King David insists on buying the property, saying that he would not make sacrifices to the Lord with offerings that cost him nothing.

* From ''Literature/TheBible'': when God told King David to go to the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 to build an altar to the Lord, David tells Araunah that he wants to purchase the threshing floor. Araunah was willing to give the threshing floor and the oxen and the wood free of charge to the king, but King David insists on buying the property, saying that he would not make sacrifices to the Lord with offerings that cost him nothing.

** Edgar's brother Sabin does this as well. He justifies it with the question, "Don't you know I'm a notorious spendtrift?"

* From ''Literature/TheBible'': when God told King David to go to the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 to build an altar to the Lord, Araunah was willing to give the threshing floor and the oxen and the wood free of charge to the king, but King David insists on buying the property, saying that he would not make sacrifices to the Lord with offerings that cost him nothing.