I'd agree with you if everyone was basically speaking then there is really no issue with speakers paying too. But I generally view conferences as places we go

I'd agree with you if everyone was basically speaking then there is really no issue with speakers paying too. But I generally view conferences as places we go to learn new things, hear from people that are doing something interesting, or learning from those that lead the way in some direction (good or bad). But to your point, I went to a conference a number of years ago where Microsoft was the host, it was regional and fairly limited attendance from what I remember. There were people from Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft and other companies there but everyone was very focused and it was a fairly small overall group. I could see everyone paying to attend that one as it was really interactive, very few "speaking" presentations, more workshops. It was awesome honestly, and I'd pay to participate in that type of conference in a heart beat regardless of any role I had.