I think lots of people do understand that they're paying more, but have issues with cash flow.

I know many people are sitting there thinking, "well, why don't they have the self control to just save up and get ahead so that they can save money in the long run?" But for someone really living at the margins, it may be a struggle to set aside $50 or $100 a month. At that rate, it's really, really easy to have your tiny cushion that you've built up over 6 months eaten up by an emergency expense like car trouble or reduced work hours and then you're back to scraping by on $1.25 of shampoo until the next paycheck.