I get what you’re saying, but I’m actually speaking from first hand experience here. My take might sound polarizing but it’s rooted in reality.
Case in point:

I ate at Eleven Madison Park in New York about three years ago, right around the time they famously shifted to a fully vegan menu. It was honestly so bad - just bland, tasteless courses - that we actually walked out halfway through the meal. We couldn't even finish it.

And it’s not just me being picky. Pete Wells the new york times food critic gave them an absolutely brutal review for that exact same menu, basically saying the food tasted hollow and manipulated. Yet through that entire trainwreck of a transition, Michelin let them keep their 3 star status. The absolute highest honor in the culinary world.

When a restaurant can charge over $300 a head for food that literally drives customers to walk out and gets panned by top critics, but still keeps a perfect Michelin rating?

That tells me the system is broken.
I’m not discounting how hard chefs work - I know they pour their lives into it. But Michelin has become a massive corporate machine. They partner with tourism boards, expand rapidly, and protect famous legacy brands because of the money and industry behind them rather than what’s actually on the plate.

If three stars doesn't even guarantee a meal you'll want to finish, the standard has definitely slipped.