> What "The Federation doesn't have money" really means is, we don't want stories about Geordi worrying about how he's going to pay his nephew's rent or Data arguing about whether or not he his patent for some $TECH is being violated and he's not getting paid out properly. We don't want stories about how some medical issue could be fixed but Ensign Bob can't afford to pay for it. We don't want stories about Commander Sally arguing about her pay raise.

You don't seem to be acknowledging that rent goes down when basically anyone can start their own colony within a huge stretch of the galaxy, or that patents and wage comparison look kind of silly when everyone's basic needs are far beyond met, or that 'fixing a medical issue' becomes crazy cheap when replicator technology and computers are that far advanced.

> I would have written straight into the story bible that this is a framing device and authors are not to sit there and try to examine the details too closely

Star Trek: Lower Decks explored these ideas a bit more - right around the same time they were cancelled. Great episodes, highly recommend checking them out.