I think it used to be even more complex back in the day. I think we got rewarded in SBD, SP and STEEM. Also we had the n^2 curve. I remember being able to upvote with 1 cent after I got 10,000SP. How times have changed.
Of course, It's still not 100% simple but I do think it's better now.
I'm also invested for very long-term. that's why I never powered down since I joined. I like the idea about the idea of voting later, it's been mentioned to me before. I'll keep that in mind.