look at it from a citizens perspective - let's say i'm a citizen here. (this story is a made up situation)
i've been playing on meep for 3 months now. i can't afford to donate and my parents wont do it for me. it's alright though, because there are no major perks to worry about - i have a fair chance to make cool things and play the game the same way as the ranked players.
yesterday, they gave perks to the ranked players. i don't know how to feel about this. for 3 months it's been ok - i can't rank up, my parents won't let me and i don't have a job. i think i'll just quit. i'll go play on some other server that doesn't have advantages for ranked players!
~ @Bloopers
ive bought supreme solely with meebles, got hacked and lost everything, finally got the ability to rejoin, and in 3 weeks I bought elite with meebles again after finding that my previous purchase of supreme was gone forever. There's really no reason to suggest that citizens can't rankup, nor any reason they should quit for not having certain perks.
(If they do they're just sensitive snowflakes and they can go back to their hub servers that sell cosmetic upgrades)