I agree, I hate the abuse of money. Some of it is just ignorance, they'll buy Word, Excel, etc... Brand recognition.
But sometimes you need the corporate features in it (like bigger churches could use). Fact is nothing beats Office from a corporate as well as interface standpoint (Open Office is the old 90's interface).
Office 2007 and 2010 have been proven to save much cost and time simply because of their easier interface, and if you're working with volunteers, etc, sometimes it's better to spend money for something easier for them than something free but hard to use.