Friend, how do you think I got "up on high"? I mostly paid for it. I took my hard earned money and I used some of it to acquire SP. Why? Becasue I wanted to have more power and influence over Steem, including the power to help my personal posts get more exposure by means of upvoting.

And you, friend, could easily do the same. Take some of your hard earned money and buy more SP. If you can't afford that, then at least invest the time to post thoughtful comments that might earn you some SP. And, if you can't do either, then...why are you here? Or, more importantly, why do I care whether your are here or not?

Steem is a self-sustaining ecosystem. Looting is impossible and moochers will quickly get bored and move on. Consequently, the folks that stay around and who do well here will be those who add value to the ecosystem either by purchasing and holding SP (which supports the market price of Steem) or by contributing great content that earns Steem.

So, you may be right. There may be another round of "massive attrition" as the looters, moochers and trolls realize that there's no way for them to gain from the Steem ecosystem. But if history is any guide, they will be quickly replaced by actual contributors--productive Steemsters that add massive value to the ecosystem by posting good content and/or holding large quantities of SP.

Steem is the Galt's Gulch of the Internet, a haven for contributors and producers. Mere consumers are welcome (they will find some great content and amazing people here), but they can't loot and won't succeed by mooching or trolling. If many of them decide to move on, all the better.