I agree that the average Joe or Jane who just wants to monitor some action will be astounded by the going prices. But the best scanners of years ago were still up in the $400-500 range. When you factor in inflation, these new scanners don't seem so high. Compare car prices 20 years ago to what you pay now.
But I agree with Nasby that one can get an affordable scanner (say $200-300) and do pretty well, unless you have Phase II. Even then, the 325 and 996P2 Unidens are pretty decent, in fact, quite good. Even $500, divide that by 365 = $1.36 per day. Say you listen 4 hours a day (many listen all the time). Now its 34 cents per hour. And you're probably going to keep that scanner for more than 1 year.
Pretty cheap for entertainment and keeping informed if you ask me.