I actually don't mind subscriptions if they are structured correctly. If I had the choice of buying a software package that I could expect to be useful for 5 years (even good software becomes out-of-date over time) for $100 or paying a $20 yearly subscription; I would rather have the subscription.

The problem is that most vendors want you to pay about half of what a package would normally cost for a perpetual license on a yearly basis. Anything over 2 years becomes more expensive.