No I understand what you are saying. It's just our roleplay philosophy is different. What you see as a tax, I see as an opportunity to overcome a flaw. So in my mind, if I choose to play a sub-optimal race for a class, I do so knowing the character will be sub-optimal because to me, it fits the world and maintains my immersion as part of the world. I generally refuse to play halflings with STR 20 because it doesn't make logical sense to me. My halfling fighters will be agile and quick, looking for precision strikes. But if I for some reason choose to play a halfling who depends on his strength, then I will do so knowing he just won't be as strong as the half orc fighter in the party. I will find a way to overcome that statistical weakness.
As I've said multiple times already if I do want to play a character who is handicapped and not as good at their class as others I can already do that by simply not distributing their stats optimally. I don't need a game mechanic that forces that decision on me.
And hey, if you don't want to play a halfling fighter with 20 strength that is entirely on you. I, however, might have in mind a heroic halfling barbarian with immense, unparalleled physical strength for his kind that can grapple with half-orcs if needed. And this is not any more immersion breaking in my mind than a human barbarian wrestling a bear (19 strength) or a tiger (17 strength) or a FRICKIN' ALLOSAURUS (19 strength) or any human-sized being getting hit by a dragon and not being reduced to a mushy red paste.
Besides, DnD's mechanics are all abstractions. In the real world being swol as heck doesn't make you better at hitting enemies with a sword, but for some reason in DnD it DOES do exactly that. Having a high STR isn't just your raw muscle mass, it also covers your skill at utilizing that strength and your proficiency at wielding certain non-finesse melee weapons. Which is why it can be so frustrating. My halfling barbarian should be able to be just as skilled at wielding a longsword as a goliath even if the goliath can lift and carry significantly more weight than my halfling ever could.
We'll just keep going in circles. What you see as fitting, I do not. Our philosophy of roleplay is different. Some mechanics are abstractions but some are not. That halfling barbarian with STR 20 can carry and lift stuff just as much as the goliath.
