"Because we can and it's free"

Quite simply... accept that you don't have to have OMGWTPGODLY equipment. You really don't and, in the long run, it doesn't really affect all that much. Then again, that's only if you play for fun as opposed to grinding to be as high level as humanly possible in a short amount of time. If you feel the game is "grinding", then it's probably not the right game for you.

The only NX I've ever used was to get rid of the Hitler hair that the Amoria quest gave me... and those were NX points, not cash. Yeah, I'm poor. Yeah, everyone else levels faster than me because of 2x. To me, that just doesn't matter.