People keep going on about how they're being forced to grind out 12 hours of favors in a week, but... Considering Red Scrips are also used for gear which will in all likelihood be required for the next available tiers of nodes...

Isn't that like saying Square is forcing you to grind out 100 guildleves just because the allowances are there? It's really not their fault you don't know how to pace yourself.