Listen, I know you didn’t explicitly say “don’t pay for insurance, move somewhere cheap!”, but you absolutely implied it with your argument. Who is forced? Nobody, you’re right. But realistically, if you want to either:
A. Like where you live, or B. have even a fraction of financial safety
you must. Very very few people can afford to purchase a house with cash, especially now, and especially first-generation home buyers. That gives you a pretty unfortunate choice to make.
My main point is, your rhetoric shows that you think WE are the problem. That average Americans should give up the idea that we could live in a city where there is culture, diversity, good education, public transit, and god forbid modest housing options.