also, I'm not 100% sure if we were the original original, but here is my and @snowflake's posts on it from two years ago:
https://steemit.com/steem/@timcliff/whales-can-the-community-buy-out-a-portion-of-your-influence
https://steemit.com/steem/@timcliff/update-on-the-whale-buyout-proposal
No, as stated in my reply in the previous comment, this suggestion is a lot simpler in nature.
Edit: found it with the help of @meno! https://steemit.com/steem/@tcpolymath/a-simple-radical-change-to-steem-that-could-fix-most-of-our-problems