Why do you think that "it would seem to be to everyone's benefit if premium accounts represented better overall value" (With emphasis on "everyone")?

For me, my premium account gives me:

An insurance policy that if I ever have a problem with my account, I can get help.

The convenience of having tier for land charged directly to a debit card, as opposed to having to remember to pay an SL landlord. OTOH, I'm paying excess tier. I haven't decided yet if that is a problem. The drop in the price of mainland parcels doesn't worry me, I consider all this to be "entertainment expense."

Stipend to me is a rebate on the charge of my account fee. If that is lowered, I'm going to expect something of equal or greater worth *to me* in exchange.