Earlier quoted context omitted.
When you put it that way, I nod in agreement. But at the same time, I reflect upon the days of the phone book, which most people on this board likely never knew. Your phone number and address would be listed by the phone company as part of your phone number subscription - an unlisted number would cost you more. While times of change, and the searchability of the digital world does raise some other concerns, I still w…
Not everyone has a PO Box, they cost actual real money. Not everyone has a public/business phone number, those cost actual real money. Requiring another phone number and a PO Box means domains go from costing $10/year to $250/year. You can allow people to contact an owner without giving out their information. Craigslist does it.
The question comes down to: is owning a domain like owning a computer (a commodity)? Or is owning a domain more akin to owning a phone (landline), or real estate, or a business?
If the former, privacy should generally be assumed by default. If the latter, I think it's worth questioning whether it should be.
To your point, the price doesn't escalate to $250/yr. It escalates to $10/year plus ~$2-5/yr for privacy protection. That's what we've been talking about this whole time - SHOULD you have to pay a premium for an "unlisted number"?
Luckily for those concerned with privacy, companies like Namecheap, Google, Namesilo, and a few others are now offering this by default, making that discussion irrelevant.