I want these much less than I want the ability to run the software without the danger of a developer disabling access on a whim. Happened too many times already, including to me personally. A standard example: games.

I want low-bug-density software I buy once and don't receive updates for until I pay again.

We should pay for features not for fixes

Exactly this, thank you for articulating it so well.

Unfortunately very few are willing to pay a high price up front for quality software.

I don't want to finance their project managers shipping new "social" features and useless functionality that I am not paying them for.

Bugs should be solved because the author made mistakes in software that they sold, and are in the process of actively selling. Not because I have a subscription.

Features should be added as addons that I may or may not purchase.

Support should be optional.

Exactly, just like a game on Steam or PS5

Somehow software vendors were able to accomplish 2 things during the last 4 decades:

1. Ship software, including free updates for the current version to fix bugs, without any fees beyond the purchase price.

2. Become the richest companies in the world, by far, to the point it's not even close.

So the idea that they need subscriptions so they can 'afford' to fix bugs is ridiculous. Also, paying the subscription isn't a warranty, maybe they collect my money and don't fix my bugs.

They didn't become the richest companies in the world by selling software without a subscription, they did it by illegally suppressing competition without any repercussions (among other things)

Agreed, when I think of "rich software companies" they all either had monopolies or were able to monopolize a significant network or "mindshare".

The free updates don't last indefinitely, generally you still have to pay for "extended" support.

If you have happily used some software for say 6 years, it is no problem if the vendor stops fixing bugs in it. It already works.

SaaS and subscriptions is mainly a way to control the users and milk them for money.

If I paid for a fully working product, fixes should be included, similar to how vehicle oems issue recalls and provide a warranty/guarantee.

Am I right that the Sketch app used to work like this? just looked at their website and only see a subscription offered.

It's because nobody complained when software moved toward subscription models.

Yes, and don't mind paying for these.

But I also want the software I buy to keep working as well as they did the day I bought them. I don't expect the developer to fix all bugs forever without any additional payment, even less add features, but I'd rather not have a kill switch, which for a text editor is what subscriptions are.

Many software vendors (ex: Jetbrains) offer renewable permanent licences that pays for maintenance without the kill switch. Sublime Text, which is possibly 10x most direct competitor now has a permanent license with 3 years of updates, which can be considered a subscription (you have to pay every 3 years for updates), but if you stop, your software won't break.