I don’t think numbers of [stable] nodes inversely correlates with cost of living.
It is only vocal minority of a handful of users here who complain that the node payout does not take their kids through college.
Vast majority of other operators who understand the purpose of the project still see it as finite payout for zero investment and continue running nodes.
This is confirmed by the stats presented in the top post.
In fact, this price will improve filtering, cutting out transient get-rich-quick nodes that would not have lasted anyway and attract stable operators. Net win for the project.
The only reason egress is paid is to provide incentive to not throttle the node. That’s it. If incentive to not throttle becomes the whole reason people join— it’s miscalibrated and shall be changed. And it was. Win-win.