I completely agree that people should be able to enjoy Yosemite without needing to "rough it", but realistically this is something that is only accessible to people who can afford to spend upwards of ~$300/night (that's the room rate in El Portal, right outside the park entrance). Factoring in the park entrance fee, transportation, and food, it's easily a $1k weekend trip - not something the average American has access to.
The campsites are affordable and several have nice bathrooms/showers, but they get snatched up en masse at the beginning of the season by tour operators, so your only hope of getting one is by monitoring campflare.com.
We all collectively support an enormous commercial venture in and around Yosemite Valley, so we all collectively contribute toward increasing the price of entry and thus making the valley less accessible for everyone else.
I and many of my friends regularly wake up to do the 7am clickthrough on recreation.gov and often (though not always) are successful for the dates we're trying to get.
There are cheaper accommodations inside the park. I've gone there for $200/night for a room that sleeps 4. In fact, I've never paid $300/night and have gone many times. I'm sure you can pay a lot if you go at peak times, but $300 is not the base rate. Transportation cost will obviously add a lot if you're coming from a distance, but that's true regardless of the park's fees.
What about being at the campsite's ranger office when it opens and being first in line to get a no show or canceled site? I used to do that, but it might not work anymore since Recreation.gov came online.
The campsites are affordable and several have nice bathrooms/showers, but they get snatched up en masse at the beginning of the season by tour operators, so your only hope of getting one is by monitoring campflare.com.
We all collectively support an enormous commercial venture in and around Yosemite Valley, so we all collectively contribute toward increasing the price of entry and thus making the valley less accessible for everyone else.