Don't use easy_install.
However we chose python, and easy_install because it's pre-installed all macbooks going back to snow leopard. (specifically python 2.6.1 which comes with distutils needed for our setup.py file) This means for many web designers, brace-tags doesn't require that you update your python install, or really know python at all. It's the simplest command line install experience we could come up with.
Make my point clear: think about sudo pip install X vs advocating everyone to use virtualenv. The cost of cleaning up any mess from sudo outweigh the cost of getting pip and virtualenv.
Look. I agree that getting new package install is painful. Even on Linux, I often have to add PPA to get the latest version.