of course I didn't mean you personally, it's the widespread practice of many others spending nearly 200 days a year in this country on visa free entries when a long-term visa is more appropriate that the Thai government is specifically trying to address with these policies. As someone who lives in Thailand I feel that the communication is fairly consistent. Foreigners are welcome to come here as a tourist and do what the Thai government considers tourist activities, but living here for hundreds of days on visa free entries that are designated for tourism is not one of them.
at the end of the day, the visa-free entry is designed to allow you to visit once and then eventually if you want to stay longer you have to get a visa. You're still getting the free entry you were promised, you just can't use it over and over again because the length of time you're staying overall reflects the need for a longer term visa. If you're staying in the country long enough to become a tax resident, (180 days) in the eyes of the government, that's not tourism. If you don't like it, you're free to go somewhere else, as you said.
If you were just in Thailand 4 days ago and you previously stayed in Thailand a full 60 days on visa exempt, you might be denied entry or given a warning and told to get a visa since they don't consider this to be tourist behavior and are cracking down on repeat 60 day visa free entries. Best of luck to you.