We are still in the midst of a recycle glitch that has excessive cash abundance introduced into the game...to the tune of hundreds of billions of game cash dollars on many accounts I come across. The ship can still be bought, and Gree has to keep taking them away, so the problem persists and money is still being made like crazy (for some).
Your second point is the one that resonates most with me. You are 100% right about having that kind of game advantage over the majority of your competition. It absolutely takes the fun out of it. That holds true if your game rich with cash, or full of ill-gotten units that make you untouchable. The game becomes less fun when that element of challenge is removed. I can understand that may not apply the same at top tiers, but it is true for average people, like myself.