[adventured]

Paying to rent Photoshop to use it for a task is absolutely no different than paying to rent a tree stump grinder. It all depends on what your needs are as to whether such rentals / subscriptions make sense for you or not. Don't rent the thing in question if it doesn't make sense for your context.

If you need to use Photoshop daily for the next three years, paying monthly might not make sense. If you need it for two months, it might make a lot of sense to rent it instead of buying it.

> Requiring ongoing payment just for continued usage is predatory

No it's not. You're not entitled to their property. If you don't like their payment terms, don't purchase their service. It's no different than purchasing a television one-off; don't pay $5,000 for a TV if you don't agree with the pricing. It doesn't matter if you're paying monthly or one time, the principle is identical. There are available alternatives to just about every type of software.