Defective iPhone 4 camera will not be replaced for free

I have had an iPhone 4 (AT&T) since about a month after they were released... In the beginning the shutter would stay closed when taking a picture but it was happening about 50% of the time I opened the camera app. Apple Genius bar told me this was a software glitch and to update, restore and everything else. The problem went away for a month, then would come back for a week but be 75% of the time not working... This continued to fix itself and stop working on and off for a while, but now it is completely shut and will not open. It has been about a week and when bringing it to Apple I was told it was "most likely" the rear camera which is defective, and that I would have to pay 60$ to replace it or 150$ to replace the phone. This is because my warranty is no longer valid. I am extremely disgusted that this is the solution since I received the phone like this and brought it to Apple in the past a few times for this problem, which means they most likely have notes about it. Why is it that I have to pay 60$ for a defective rear camera which is a caused of the terribly rushed and underpaid assembly line factory or the producer of the camera component? I never had a problem with this phone in the past besides this, and I am extremely annoyed that I can no longer take pictures with my iPhone. Looks like my next mobile phone choice will no longer be created by the same people of my last 4 phones...