No, it certainly should not be used without a thermostat. But thermostats are a must regardless (and you can combine a cheap one with a lamp dimmer for better safety), and you have to have some method of heating regardless, and you pay by the watt for anything you plug in; and all of that is true regardless of how much you spend on a cheap tub or an expensive vivarium. When you add up the power bill and the fixtures and the replacement bulbs and so forth, the RHP really isn't so bad.
A heating system that requires twice the wattage to heat the same enclosure still costs more to run, whether it's a cheap enclosure or an expensive one. If anything, I would think that someone who doesn't want to spend the money on a more expensive cage should be more concerned about the efficiency, not less. Not to mention that if they do spring for a different cage down the line, they can keep using the same panel very easily.
Basically, I know a RHP is an expensive single item, but it's one and done instead of buying this bulb and then that bulb and then changing the lamp fixture, let alone maybe raising the heat in the house or running a space heater. And it really does pay for itself pretty quickly if it means a significant reduction in the total wattage required to maintain correct temperatures. You just don't notice the savings because electric bills are not itemized with things like "$10 - cost to heat snake cage this month".
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