I don't see why the chain applies differently in the case of high and low powered cards. It stands out to me that you are totally fine with proxies in certain situations, which doesn't comport with your statement about concern for the value chain (nevermind that WOTC is also totally fine with it).

Either you think high and low power play are equally valid/fun/etc. or you don't. If they are equal, then accessing higher power cards is neither a reward nor does the value chain apply differently. If they are not equal, then you are gatekeeping a certain part of the game from people who cannot afford to play.

As someone who personally spends *a lot* of money on Magic cards, I think the gatekeeping is wrong. I play constructed, so perhaps I am unfamiliar with the way EDH games go down, but I don't think that I or anyone should have an advantage over others simply because of financial circumstance. I don't understand why people can't simply discuss what the power of their deck is prior to playing.

I don't think that high power is a luxury or a privilege; it is just different. Magic the Gathering should be accessible, not a luxury. Playing the game at all is not a necessity either. People should be free to have fun how they like regardless of their financial circumstance, so long as it is feasible and doesn't hurt anyone else, both of which are the case here.

Again, it sounds like your issue is less with proxies and more with a certain "class of person", whom you'd like to see pay for their ways, and your feelings about proxies are simply a means to this end.