Thats a rather sad but absolutely accurate assessment of the current state of play. Ever since I joined 18months ago, the problem has been signup with Steem inc seemingly either oblivious or, more likely, having other secret motives for not addressing it.
Only yesterday I read that tokens for account creation have almost run out. Its unbelievable.
Personally, I cannot see Steem inc paying for anything any longer, ads or otherwise, they appear to me to be just sneaking away and leaving the whole chain to 3rd parties to develop and administer.
Steem Engine and their team are bloody brilliant but are they going to basically do what Steem inc ought to be doing without more of a vested interest inSteem inc is debatable. No serious investor doing any form of even simple DD is going to part with their cash as things stand.
We seem to be at an en passe and whilst I may not agree with this particular scheme as being helpful right now, I can completely understand its benefits. I would personally throw off the shackles of the 13 week powerdown period and throw the whole lot out to let a free decentralised market decide the fate of Steem.
Seems even the eternal optimists in a fair, utopian and abundant blockchain like me are forever sliding towards cynicism, albeit with good reason!
Great comment and bestwishes :-)