2. It is a product that many people find valuable, and there is no reason why airlines shouldn't charge for it, though I get why they give it free to elites.

Granted, I don't have the statistics, but I think the idea of asssuming an off-duty polic officer or soldier is going to improve safety seems a bit of a stretch. Given the extremely low number of emergency exits, especially where saving a few seconds actually matters, it seems unnecessary to guess which occupations might be better at opening a door, despite having no specific experience doing so.

On a side note, I wonder how often the exit is not opened by the person in the window seat. I would imagine that the percentage is very low. Unless the person in the window seat was injured, or became hysterical, I would assume they are almost always the ones to open it.