I’m a bit surprised that they didn’t crack down harder after that incident

That incident was 15 years ago It’s entirely possible that they did tighten things up, but relaxed those changes after several years. Probably not relaxed now, though…

people who are bad at thinking should be treated with the same respect as scholars and people with real world experience.

This reminds me of a quote from Isaac Asimov:

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’

I won’t lie I was super tempted to add a pro toolkit

I say do it (if you have the money, of course). I got it and while it has far more tools/bits than I use regularly, it’s been invaluable.