That analysis is overly simplified for a number of reasons, two of the big ones are 1) You often aren't comparing the same properties and 2) while it's true that you are potentially indirectly paying a mortgage, it doesn't have the same terms as what you could negotiate yourself for buying the same property today.

These and other reasons contribute to why rental costs and TCO for residential properties are not in lock-step.

So the real answer is (unsurprisingly) "it depends". Sometimes you are better off financially to rent, sometimes to buy - very dependent on location, dwelling needs, frequency of moving, etc. In the USA the balance is often tipped towards buying by tax incentives, which are politically if not economically popular.