I think you mean players that haven't poured as much time into maxing out Exotics rather than new players. That's true. And with the exception of those that leveled Exotics a bunch in the recent weeks, those that did put that time in also enjoyed the perks of having fully leveled Exotics. Unique mods that wrecked the current content. Which is what the Exotics purpose actually is.
If you want to keep your Exotics current to the new Progression Scale, then every time Progression advances, yes you have to level the Exotics again. I don't think it's fair or accurate to say that Bungie doesn't "value" the time it's players have put in. Having to put more time into leveling things is a staple of Vertical Progression. It doesn't work otherwise. I am, as I'm sure Bungie is as well, fully aware that people have limited time to play. However I find it hard to believe that people with limited time to play have so many fully leveled Exotics that it makes a serious difference.
It primarily affects the people with a ton of time to play. The people who have accrued a ton of Exotics and spent the time since launch leveling them. It took a lot of time then and it will take a lot of time now. That's exactly how vertical progression works.