I think more than just you feel this way. Technically it was phased in, as this was the second reduction in the popularity multiplier. And there was a vote about how much to drop it, and the most intense change won out in the end.
And so its up to you to either spend the time hunting through which cards, like car dealerships, wind turbines and nuclear plants, are not helping - (or buy now expensive population cards, which were cheap for years), or just dump it all.
Its all part of the game, even quitting.