Tire performance is not checked with your fingers, its tested on car that is being driven on a road, Its nothing new that any long lasting tire acts like plastic, it has been tested a million times with 100% results in favor of plastic.
Then comes the factor of tire age, any tire aging more than 5 years since manufacture is useless, so what good is a tire that will last for 200,000 kms (8 years) when the total usable age of rubber will be exceeded before that. Its better to ride on new tires every 3 years that give solid traction rather than plastic casters that are dangerous on roads.
There is only 4 little feet your car has - that is all you have for safety and traction - Its in your best interest to invest properly in it. It might save you or someone else someday.
For why michelin make long lasting tires etc, its a product - you as the owner of the machine have a choice, you can either use it or not. You maybe a taxi owner who drives 400 kms a day - you need the long life tire in that case, but it would be a really bad choice for an average guy who only drives 20 kms a week. No - one is forcing either to buy one or the other tire.