Because people are willing to work for wages that can't buy them the shittiest home within a reasonable commute to their office.

If people were more willing to die, unionize, or advocate for a mediocre life, this wouldn't happen.

If you're working for less than it takes to buy the shittiest home in your city, you are exacerbating inequality and thus making the world worse. Better to sit on the sidewalk until you're dead.