Does reclining your seat that 1/2" really make you comfortable? Half the time I see people recline their seat and then lean forward working on their laptops anyway. Don't see the point, let's face it economy seats are crap, even at there most generously reclined.
Back on topic, the reason I make sure I can take everything in the cabin is more to do with the massive bag checkin lines. Yes fair enough enforcing your cabin bag rules, but how about having more than 2 staff checking bags in. As has been posted, for years lcc's have been encouraging people to not check bags, checkin online, etc so they could cut back staff numbers.