Inability to Afford Medical Costs (Hoping for Discussion)

TLDR: Are animals better off in low-income homes or shelters?

So this is just something I've been tossing around in my mind lately, and I'm hoping to get thoughts and perspectives because I think this is kinda a big issue in the pet world (would especially love to hear from those who have experience with shelters from either perspective of employee or adopter):

Between the few pet-related subreddits I follow, and other forums I've come across around the net, I've seen SO MANY comments of people looking for medical advice for their pets, sadly claiming under many contexts that they "can't afford" the vet visits.

And a most common response, as well as a general notion with many pet-owners-and people in general- is that someone who can't afford their pets medical costs shouldn't be a pet owner.

So...I totally get that response and agree to it to an extent, but I think there are a few problems going on with pet-owners and money, the main issue in my mind being that if all these people that made these claims had agreed not to take home a pet, couldn't that lead to incredibly overcrowded shelters? I kinda feel like the majority of 'pet-adopters' are middle-class paycheck-to-paycheck people, and in fact those who do have a lot of money are a very small population worldwide. Basically, I could be wrong because this is based on no actual statistics-just my anecdotal observations- it just seems like it would be a different world if only those who felt financially confident to be able to spend up to thousands of dollars at a moments notice adopted animals. Honestly wondering if an animal is better off living in a shelter vs. a home with lower-finances? Not expecting one right answer to that question, it seems kinda tricky to me anyways.

Additionally, I know many shelters like to screen adopters for all sorts of things-like household residents-people and animals alike-whether an animal would be indoor or outdoors, etc. I've never heard of a shelter doing a financial or credit check, though I'm not very educated so I don't know...do any shelters out there check these things? Or require a pet-owner to get pet-insurance before adopting? Should they be more heavily screening money-issues, since so many pets get left ill or injured without vet checks? Or do they feel like it would limit their potential 'adopters' too much?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read any of this, as I know it's long. I'm not the most educated on pet-ownership and have no experience with shelters at all, so I feel like I may be missing something big. Just curious to hear other minds.

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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b02sqg/inability_to_afford_medical_costs_hoping_for/