I am not sure why this Cloud business is such a big issue?
If you are making money out of your photography, you pass on the cost! Photographers already have an incredible high margin on their images - obviously not if you are just giving it away, to compete, that has never really been a viable business model.
If you do this for a hobby, well, then its still cheaper doing this then running a power-boat :-) or an expensive car!
The price of coffee goes up, do you switch to tea?
Most people here, considering the gear they say they have, should find it hard to find this sort of money. It would be nice if we didn't have to pay so much, but like everything else, prices goes up, and so do we have to increase our prices, if we want to keep a particular margin on our products or services.
Anyway, this is just one persons opinion - Happy photoshopping or Gimping ;-)
Henrik