Yes we have all heard the excuses but the fact remains these price increases were due. Here in Canada we've been paying $22 to $30 for Revell/AMT kits at the LHS for awhile now.
Luckily for me I also have a large stash of kits that I've been buying for years now so I won't need to buy anything new for a long time. When I do decide to buy more I'll wait for the kits to go on sale because if a lot of us stop buying, they'll have to reduce prices to get us to come back!