Because there's not actually enough money in America for everyone to be well off. You can either have a few silly rich people, and the rest of us constantly exchanging labour for cash until we die, or everyone is poor.
without renting though it would probably be more like buying a fridge. You could just buy it when you needed it and sell it when you no longer needed it.
With realtors taking a 10% cut on each transaction? Or do you envision a more liquid market with less paperwork? What about escrow, inspections, and handling disputes on large transactions?
BTW in the US, a big advantage of renting is not having to buy, sell, or maintain appliances like a fridge because the landlord has to deal with it.