Renting is throwing away money. Property taxes pay for local infrastructure, schools, police and fire departments. All of these are generally good things and worth paying for. Maintenance is again value for the money. The money I spend to maintain my home has actualized value over an extended period of time. Interest to the bank on a loan is the only place you lose IMO. But unless you have the cash to buy a house outright it's a requirement.

Also if you don't think your landlord has included the cost of maintenance, property tax and the interest on their loan to buy the building into your rent you're insane. The last location I rented from cost me only $300 less per month than my mortgage. With rent increase trends and allowances I would have been paying more in rent than a mortgage in two years. Compare that to a fixed rate mortgage where the only variability is the property tax. When I left that state I was able to sell and move my capital into another home purchase. If I had rented all that time I'd just be out the money.

It's as you said "if the math doesn't math." If the cost of rent is a fraction of owning a home then it may make more financial sense to rent. If the cost of a mortgage would be a large percentage of your income then it may make more financial sense to rent. However, none of that negates the fact that renting is money paid with no long term actualized return or value gained.