There’s an old Chasidic story about a rabbi who stayed with some of his students at an inn. The rabbi pointed out how the innkeeper was attentive and generous to his guests, saying “Look at how well he fulfills the mitzvah [commandment] to be charitable.” One of the students said, “What do you mean? He’s just being that way because he gets paid.” The rabbi said, “You’ve got it backwards. He needs to earn a living so he can go on fulfilling the mitzvah.”

For there to be professional writers who can spend some time thinking deeply about important matters, the writers need to have some means of support. I don’t know about superstars like Auletta, but most writers don’t have any input about the price of the book. Brin is speaking in the role of publisher or aggregator, and as a billionaire to (sc., of) boot. I think your criticism is misplaced.