[dasil003]

Have you ever taken a job with a company as opposed to starting your own? You do so not because you trust the employer to watch out for your individual self-interest, but because they will pay you more than you think you can make for yourself.

The app store is pretty much the same thing. I think most developers go into it with their eyes open because they figure 30% is an order of magnitude less than the increased sales they expect to get. Is it short-sighted? Maybe, but what can one developer do given the choice of either making lots of money or not? If all the developers abstained sure they could put pressure on Apple, but that's statistically not going to happen, plus Apple has been at the mercy of developers before and now they are very careful to make sure their ecosystem is complete with or without you. They'll dangle a juicy carrot for you, but they do not need to care if you take it.