Ok. I agree. But what if you could have an extra screen (economics or resource screen) like the four screens you have now? (Would also solve some of the negative space someone with 1600x1200 was complaining about some time earlier) and there you could see your resources/economics.
Think this: Spreadsheet Display Look. A table with in it all your resources. You should also be able to discover resources thru research or exploration/colonization/trade.
And your Economics Screen could be a sort of mix between the Colony, Queue, Empire Status screens - showing your incomes, colonies producing such-and-such resource, and queues using such-and-such resource.
You should also have immaterial resources like Happiness and things like that. Or certain resources that need to be processed from others and cannot be obtained any other way (i.e. "Biocrystals", mix of min and org, or "Solarsteel", mix of min and rad, "Bioactives", mix of org and rad, etc.) or others that require raw material resource tyes - that aren't useful for anything else. So you can start mining Quadan Ore as soon as you discover it, but you wouldn't have anything to do with it until you research Quadan Ore Processing and can use them to create Quaila Steel.
This would add a whole economics/management dimension to the game; "should I build resource or raw material storages on that planet? What has priority in this border colony: a spaceyard or a mine to exploit the rich Quadan Ore veins there?" Would IMHO mean SO much for the game. Like said b4, Economic Superpowers can then arise. They might not have such an impressive navy, but if they control 80% of the Galaxy's Hypersteel reserves, which is absolutely necessary for warp point travel capable ships, you wouldn't attack them anytime soon; lest they give it all to your most bitter enemy. Would also make diplomatic focused games more fun
(and interesting)