Mining is affordable if miner manufacturers lower their prices. Everytime the difficulty rises by X percent, the manufacturer needs to lower their price by an equal percentage or risk being priced out of the market. The hardware company that can best afford to adapt to that is the one that will survive.
Do you know any company that systematically does that week after week, apart from Bitmain. I don't.
I wish Spondoolie would drop on their SP30. Been over a month or more and same price ( I think ). Right now cost about 9 bitcoins for an SP30. Wonder how long an SP30 will make back 9 bitcoins....will it? Have to be a cheapo these days....bill collectors are abundant.