I too hate the "I pay your wages" school of thought. Thats not what it says on my bank statement each and every month. If we are to think of it that way then a large proportion of the population pays each others salary. Hence, the saying loses it's point some what.
As for charging for extra's. I can see why it is annoying but ultimately it has been down to the consumer's thirst (some would say greediness) for low fares. Airlines are scared to include things in the fare as it unevens the playing field if competitors follow suit and contrary to what some may say on this forum, the airline would lose passengers attracted the lower headline fare offered by the compeition.
Many, mainly regional, airports are having a tough time of it too and are trying to recoup costs in unconventional ways due to the fact that the competition for business (i.e attracting airlines) is so strong. So I can understand why people resent paying to drop off people at LBA for their flight to Barcelona but then again you could argue that if it wasn't for the hit taken by LBA to attract airlines, BCN and numerous other direct services wouldn't be possible.