Standards cost money because the process to create them costs money. Sometimes governments, big companies or organisations like the EU fund standard development, these then end up freely accessible.
That said, it really shouldn't be this way.
That said, it really shouldn't be this way.
But the money you pay to the standards doesn't go to the creators, it goes to the organization to make them available. (I've contributed to ANSI standards).
This removes any commercial incentives that may result in regulatory capture - a big issue in some areas - and should (if implemented properly) drive investment in strategically sensible areas.
The profit that most national/international standards bodies just about covers costs, but none of these bodies are particularly expensive to operate in the grand scheme of things. Some already get partial funding from govts. Full funding is clearly the sensible model.