Huh? Incentives for Homeownership Lead to Less Homeownership?

From CalculatedRisk.  

Does anyone remember when Greenspan was advising we all go out and get adjustable rate mortgages?   Or when Bush and Clinton were pushing for an ownership society?

Why as a nation are we so fixated on owning our homes?  The decision to buy vs. rent should be a strictly economic one.  For example, I will not buy at this point in my life because there is too great a risk of losing money on transaction costs and slippage if I have to sell the home because I need to move to a new city, like have 3 times in the last three years.  My friend Rick on the other hand just got married and he knows he will live in Jupiter, FL and work for Lockheed Martin for 5-10 years.  He and his wife can save money by buying their townhouse with a mortgage that they are quickly paying off, rather than waste money on rent like I do.

Politicians need to stop manipulating this decision process in order to win votes from poor districts or campaign contributions from greedy bankers and developers.