They didnt make it unfair. Those gangs have been basing for years and gone through all small and big wars. They just got stronger and more members everytime they win a war. But they are just abusing the flaw of this basig system. It is basing system who cause this problem NOT THE PLAYERS.
Taxing for hours is just not the right way. But I got this idea from you. Tax the leaders whenever they want to rec. This will make them be careful to rec and not abusing their friendlist which contains all the players. I dont think taxing recruitment will cause any problems. This emphasize the meaning of 'gang' so the leaders will not kick and rec random.