I accept andnunderstand your viewpoint, absent. It makes sense. But my gut instinct is still not comfortable. What if a child asked for his autograph and had no money? I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't insist on the $1 if it was a child.
My feeling is that it is not right to put a price on everything. If Einstein, or anyone else famous, doesn't want to give autographs, all they have to do is say no. If, for instance, he or a similar person, were giving a public lecture, it's very easy to say that no autographs will be given. Likewise at a school, though that might be seen as a bit mean.
What if the charity he chose was not one that the autograph seeker would choose to support? You mentioned a problem with that yourself recently, absent.
The thing is, from my perspective, the charging a dollar for an autograph is not fundamentally right. It doesn't feel right. Charging a dollar for an autograph is not fundamentally wrong either, necessarily, but I'm not comfortable with the idea.
Oh well, hey ho and all that, but I'll follow my instincts.