I see, I read you wrong there. Quite possibly it is not a good long term strategy either but I don't think that is obvious enough for it to have an effect.
So it sounds to me that you we are correct in this point, that self voting is not beneficial. What then do you say we're wrong about?
It's my opinion that self-voting is not inherently a good long term strategy for users and that its existence is not inherently bad for Steem/Steemit.
But, and this is important, I also don't take issue with the idea that kitty would be using its Steem Power for Reason X, even if X is flagging self voters. Users should be able to use their SP as they see fit, whether it's for self voting or for flagging other users who self vote. A flag is just a downvote or thumbs down by another name.
As an aside, I don't like the idea of any bot voting, either positive or negative. But I realize that bot voting is here to stay.
It's not an opinion. Self-voting is reducing the (Dollar value of the)
remaining reward pool and therefore the value of the platform. It's a simple measurable fact.
Also if people have to spend voting power on flagging to counter it, they can't upvote content they want themselves.
Self-voting should just be eliminated, it's best for everyone.