Oh, you're absolutely correct. There are no quantum leaps forward. You can take a bamboo rod using a design from the 1800s and a silk or horsehair line and cast 100' if you're good enough. But if you can do that you can cast a Ridge line without tangling it, too. LOL THAT is the point!

They say football is a game of inches. Fly tackle is a game of a few feet when it comes to casting efficiency. And the only reason we measure it in distance is because that's the easiest way to express it in a quantifiable way. The point is to reduce the amount of work you have to do to make the cast. But that assumes you have good technique. Frankly, your line hand and proper line management is one of the most neglected aspects of fly casting technique among intermediate fly casters. Learning to use the off-hand (line hand) well is a huge part of becoming an advanced caster. And here's the kicker: the better caster you are the more you will enjoy your fly fishing because you will be able to fish in a wider variety of conditions, put flies in front of more difficult to reach fish, make all casts using less effort so you can fish longer more comfortably, and things like that.

Your perspective/opinion is completely valid for the time-pressured angler who can't spend a lot of time improving their casting skills. You do not have to be an expert caster to catch some fish and have a great time! And any typical rod, reel, and line combo will do the trick. The advanced caster can also take a sub-$100 combo and make it "sing." But it won't do for her/him what their favorite gear will. And I promise you that gear will cost more than $100 for the rod, reel, and fly line. I also promise you that the fly line will MSRP for at least $50, because if we had to give up our choice of rod, reel, or line we would all give up the reel first, rod second, and line third.