I agree with your sentiments, but honestly cannot agree with your points =p

First, I have become a minnow after almost a year here. I have never used a vote bot, or paid service of any kind, because I seek criticism--which is in no short supply here XD--rather than emuneration. The problem is many people focus on emuneration. They don't care about being right or wrong very much, as long as they're accepted and financially rewarded.

If I was focused on money, I would have been long gone, this is true. But I have survived here without ever trending, or buying access to views from those that seek to raise their curation rewards by stacking on the right posts. IMHO, giving two shits about who has and gets how much from the ducat bucket is the actual problem that drives quality down.

Trending is not only NOT my only hope, it isn't on my radar. I'm not here to be popular, oddly enough. I'm here to engage with folks that introduce me to critically important ideas, and to share those I find important. Popularity and encomiums are nice, if you get them for the right reasons, but don't stem from, or create, what is important: the quality of engagement, the ferment of good ideas, and the felicity of those whose good company we keep (or want to).

The last point you make I have to disagree with is that everybody looks at reputation before opening a post. I confess I tend to be interested in reputation--as, if it isn't purchased, it relates experience, and thus lends credence to the statements of those with high rep regarding topics informed by experience on Steemit.

Otherwise, I don't care. I don't look at reputation before I open a post. I consider reputation when giving their views thought, for the stated reason.

One thing you say I do strongly agree with is that we need more Dolphins than Whales. Nothing I can do about that, but it's true nonetheless. The stronger the middle class the stronger the society. Societies highly stratified tend to violence and aggression, since the absence of the middle class demonstrates that there is no upward mobility, except for violent seizure of the assets of others. Since we can't seize other's assets here, we just get ragequits and rants, maybe some fleabite flags, when people confront their incapacity to progress up the social ladder.

We live in a world that money lords power over peons in, and dramatically increase that dynamic on Steemit by making power directly dependent on the phatness of the wallet.

This terribly discounts various matters that are far more important than mere money. Society suffers as a result, and Steemit and the trending page is a wonderful representation of why that sucks to do. Society is people, not their money.

Society, including on Steemit, is far more important than SP, and VP being based on SP is a foul twisting of our attention away from those things that matter more.

I haven't figgered out a way to base our VP on how much we love our families, however, so dunno how to fix it.

Thanks for your forthright comments that come from the heart.

That is something I value highly.