I am also getting irritated with how greedy EA is getting lately with premium content. The 4th of July Event is especially infuriating. Rehashing Kang as the freemium character is just lazy and inconsiderate to veteran players. There were so many possibilities (Jebediah Springfield, The Historical Museum) and they decided to cheap out and be greedy.
I passed on a few of the past event items because it's getting so costly. I'd rather own character/building combos NPCs, and skins than decos and buildings that just sit empty and take up room. I'll buy them occasionally if it's something that I missed out on, but otherwise, I'll likely pass.
