Rumor has it that the FCC was reducing the fee to $75 again, or thereabouts. To date it's still $85..
The fee should be a little more reasonable if they want licensed users. True, even at $85 the license is a good deal since it's good for 5 years and your family can use it, but on the surface, no one is going to pay for a $85 license unless they're a hardcore radio user who understands what it means to get licensed. Bubblepack users don't get licensed, 9 times out of 10, and a select few will learn to buy better radios and will cause problems with unlicensed repeaters and such. If the license were $20, it would be a totally different story. The number of licenses would go up, and maybe the demeanor of many users may improve.