Funnily enough, i started working on a mod for this; essentially it's exactly as you stated; there was a tracked value against each colonist, you could pay them for completing jobs and if they didn't get paid, they'd get disgruntled and go on strike refusing to work. They could spend their earnings on vending machine objects, that would give them temporary buffs (was also working on a turnstyle that would allow them access to certain areas, but couldn't get the pathfinding working correctly).
In the end (tldr), the micromanaging of financially balancing your colony with all the other pressures the game throws at you wasn't worth it and I decided to shelf the idea.
In the end (tldr), the micromanaging of financially balancing your colony with all the other pressures the game throws at you wasn't worth it and I decided to shelf the idea.