I have not fully looked into all the aspects of this topic, I hope to find some more posts on the matter, but I will say 2 things here now before I head over to @aggroed's post:

1. I am looking at this under long term prospects in terms of economic viability rather than short term growth and immediate rewards of the community.
   From that POV it absolutely makes sense to implement a "down-peg", possibly as described by yourself above.

2. I know this sounds a bit #circlejerk -ish but I must applaud your open stance, community orientation and call to action on the matter. Kudos!

P.S.: After looking into aggroed's post, I think I am now even more pro down-peg. Thanks for getting me thinking!