That would de facto exclude a lot of people with a tight budget.

Just sayin.

Paying a multi-hundred-dollar cancellation fee or being unable to cancel is also really bad for people on a tight budget.

Yeppers. This is true.

It sucks to be poor.

But being bit in the ass later because something has changed and you want out will hurt a smaller percentage of people than a large upfront fee that makes it unattainable for many. That denies many people opportunity in the name of protecting some portion of those people from potential negative consequences.

I definitely prefer the decision of whether to sacrifice for an upfront cost than to be hit with an unexpected one.