Most shoes sold in the the US are of low quality and made at a low cost and then sold at a huge markup. They don't last very long and aren't serviceable.
Traditionally made welted shoes are neither more expensive over the long haul or less comfortable.
But, that's not what your argument was. Your argument was pretty aristocratic. It's like saying, "Stop being ugly, I don't like looking at ugly people". Very dickish to say, as people shouldn't really give a shit some random dude at the airport thinks about his shoes.
The second sentence isn't a reasonable statement. I am not a big fan of Ecco quality, especially not for the cost, but I bought a pair of their GoreTex books at a discount shoe warehouse for $40 and wore them until the soles fell off before I sent them back to Ecco for warranty coverage (the soles literally fell off). They gave me a $200 credit to buy a new pair. I bought two pairs of Ecco loafers from sierratradingpost.com for $60/ea. I wore one pair for about five years until the sole cracked in half. They gave me $190 warranty credit for that pair. The second pair of loafers lasted one additional year before an elastic band on the monk strap gave out. They repaired those free and sent them back.
At this point, I'm not going to purchase any brand new Eccos using my own money, but as long as they keep giving me free pairs I'm happy to wear them. Others in my family have had similar experiences with Rockport and Clarks. I think most people just don't bother trying to take advantage of workmanship guarantees.
Traditionally made welted shoes are neither more expensive over the long haul or less comfortable.