Keep in mind that the rest of the world does not even come close to US salaries. Buying a mac in most countries in the world means giving away multiple monthly salaries. Even in Germany, one of the richest countries in the world, a simple 16" Mac goes way way beyong the average salary.

Still going strong on a 2019 Intel MacBook, just for economic reasons.

The title question is about people doing work on Intel Macs. Working tools for most skilled professions should cost and mostly do cost a couple of monthly salaries. They should pay for themselves reasonably quickly. And people can always buy used. First generation M1 Macs are selling for $400 or below at the moment, and are very capable professional tools.