So when will AP finally get the same sort of attention as AD?

It's obvious that AP has been going down hill for awhile now compared to AD. AP is about to become even weaker for a large number of champions with various staple AP items getting large decreases in AP meaning the average amount of AP for a champion will go down even further.

What is the cause for AD being stronger? I think flexibility. AD champions have so many options that allow them to keep their playstyles and damage intact while adding tons of extra utility, tank, and special passives and actives from items with no drawbacks.

Need HP, CDR, and AD? Buy a Black cleaver and you even get armor shred with it.

Need counter burst but don't want to invest gold into defensive stats? Buy a Steraks.

Need to nullify an AP assassin? Buy a Maw.

Want to remove some sort of key ability to the enemy? Buy a Mercurial.

So many options for counter building, bruiser builds with tons of damage, utility items, and loaded damage items.

What does AP have? A majority of builds are typically the same, counterbuilding is almost non existent as the "Counter Build" items are nothing more than weak defensive items or an item you get regardless, and a heavy lack of utility.