BluYak.
I completely agree with your OP.
I have turned away all my friends and family from this game as the "double pay" features in this game bother me a lot.
I would really like to see a sense of achievement from STO.. give me something that shows I worked hard in this game not opened my wallet and bought it.

The biggest turn off, I believe, for a new comer to this game is loading it up for the first time and seeing over 200 dollars worth of items in the C-Store... ridiculous.

the only thing the C-Store should sell is account features, respecs, and the occasional cosmetic item.