The ISP are already massively profitable.

The data caps are artificial scarcity to create even more profit or drive people to their own video providers.

Cities have decided to only allow 2 sets of cables to everyones house (and the FCC decided not to make them share between providers) so there is a defacto duopoly - competition is nearly non-existant.

Hence they know they can get away with double and triple dipping. Nexflix has to pay more - guess who they pass it on to?

But in the 80s and 90s they weren't heading towards big iron.

It was the opposite. 1.5 litre engines with a lot of boost making more horsepower than they do now.