I agree. It is begging for disaster, the problem is - what to do? In the case of the site I'm working on, it is a Christian broadcast network. We have multiple types of contributors, all with different access needs. The core Joomla permission set is just not robust enough.
I am patiently waiting for the CB solution for membership, which I understand has an advanced permission set. Then I can kick JACLPlus to the curb.
Oh well. Nice dream. I hope it becomes reality soon.