It's not just softball that has this issue. Look at every winter Olympic sport. Even track, where your income shouldn't matter come into play when talking technic. The days of Johnny Unitas and Willie Mayes are over.
You are definitely not alone...my family has found ourselves having to make decisions based on finances. It sucks, but in the end, youth sports are below food, mortgages, etc on the priority list.
Personally, I'm disgusted with the current state of youth sports. It's a business. It's about money. Period. And the more WINS the more money these clubs command. I say this as a dad who has paid for his daughter and son to play on elite teams and made sacrifices so they could do so. In my experience, my money has gone to feed the egos of a few club directors. I chalk it up as learning experiences. Now my kids play on the middle-of-the-road teams and enjoy it quite a bit.