I think that as a business and given the fact they are now charging for a previously free service (public IPs), offering a now paid service as free would nullify the reasons for doing what they are doing. They don't owe anyone anything for free.
Look I’m the last one that will bang the capitalism, consume, spend, drum, but nothing is ever free. You want a free nat box? Your managed database cluster just got a fraction of a fraction of a cent more expensive every hour. You would never get it for free even if they billed it as such. They wouldn’t be the biggest company in the world if they were in the habit of using their profits for your bills instead of the shareholder’s dividends. This is a business, not a family style steak house.
That’s not anything new. They’ve been scarce for a decade and they’ve footed the bill this long so why change it now other then someone noticed the opportunity
