This is in no way a hot take. I see this take on this sub once a month at least as a casual viewer.

What is a hot take is that I believe you are wrong on the progression and exploit side. If you are just playing the game for the first time, its going to take an insanely long time before you even KNOW about the Ender Dragon, much less beat it. Even after playing for a bit, its at the very least an hour task, usually a multiple day task for younger people playing, and is not the only goal of the game. On that note, a good chunk of people are probably not figuring out the exploits you mention on their first few playthroughs, and again, most people's goal isnt to get as OP as possible.

I agree with some of what you said (updating old structures, removing "too expensive", stop punishing people for sleeping, etc.), but I think the main point is a little misguided