There seems to be a general consensus that if "rich people" are making decisions, "poor people" are going to be harmed by them - perhaps it is because often, this is true. Is that the case on Steem?
Steem witnesses are on average and when compared to "the average" Steemian, better off than most - at least from a Steem perspective. People forget that Steem life is not the only thing in life however, but I would suspect that "on average" Steem witnesses probably do "better than average" in the real world too as most of them are experienced professionals in something. Does there "better than average" holdings mean that they are out to get the little folk, to crush them down? I doubt it.
HF21 is coming and I suspect that it will likely go through and the chain will Hardfork and as soon as it does, people will be up in arms complaining about change, even if it is going to work out better for them in the longrun. I got a comment last night saying that every hardfork has been a failure but, I would strongly disagree because of 20 so far, Steem is still ticking along transacting blocks every 3 seconds, distribution is not great but improving slowly, developers are getting more creative and, users are starting to see the bigger picture that Steem is not only a blogging site.
I wonder though, if instead of the generally "above average earning top20" witnesses deciding on what should happen to the protocols on the platform, would people prefer "20 below average earners" making the economic decisions. remember, not just 20 below average on Steem, 20 below average in general. Would a hardfork conceived, developed, organized and executed by the "bottom20" go more smoothly?
Do you predict that you would you be happy with the decisions and execution? Do you think that the decisions made would be in your best interest and, do you think that it would be in the best interest of long-term viability? Do you think you would be able to create a fairer system, or would you favor your own needs and beliefs over those of others? Do you think you would be an impartial witness?
I am not going to vouch for them all, but I met quite a few of the top20 at SteemFest3 and I can at least say that, they don't appear to be monsters with some plan looking to extract value from the "little guy" to line their own pockets - At least most of them. If anything, they seemed to be much more interested in building a system that works better for all, even though they might not always agree on what that may be.
The problem is that whenever we are in need we tend to become manipulative animals that will use all kinds of behavior to satisfy our desires. Whether it be to get money, love, attention or drugs - we are addicts. With most of us living with a scarcity mindset provided by experience and social programming, we are wired to manipulate for our own better position, even if it costs others.
What do you need from Steem?
Have you asked yourself that question? Perhaps you should - and then meditate on it, reflect on it, let it ruminate in your thoughts awhile. Write a post about your findings.
As said, I think hardfork 21 will go through eventually and I believe that it will make the place better because it will put more stake in the hands of the community by providing downvotes that can reallocate back to the pool making the upvotes more valuable by 25% (if people use them).
Will everyone benefit equally? Unlikely. Will no one be disrupted from their current behaviors? Unlikely. This Hardfork is meant to disrupt behaviour. It is meant to change the benefits for some groups over others. You think it is all about greedy whales and "the rich" who are out to get you because you have less Steem than they? How vain. Perhaps it is a good thing you aren't a witness after all.
After HF21, I expect my Steem earnings to go down because I am going to pull my earning stake from 
Lower the shit down a few pegs, raise the good up a few. I urge everyone to flag with discernment, but often. Find that shit that is bidbot voted to the moon and flag it to what you think it is worth. Remember that 100 SBD on a post at these prices is 250 Steem. If Steem was 10 dollars, a 100 dollar post is 10 Steem worth. This is why discerment needs to come into it, not just the price on the post but in the future, I see people getting very little Steem and being very happy with their earnings.
There is 887,000 Steem in the pool at the moment and it is worth 360,000 dollars at these prices. At 10 dollar Steem that pool is going to be worth 8,870,000 dollars. Your 1 Steem post earning will be 10 dollars worth and small amounts of significant value could go out to many more people without 750 Steem going on one post in Trending because, it got flagged to fuck for trying to make a 7500 dollar post. What was it you wanted from Steem?
Ah right.... the witnesses are out to get us by increasing their own value along the way.
Is your content good? I don't know what good content is but it has to at least be seen for an evaluation and, most of it isn't getting seen at all. After HF21 perhaps some better authors will get seen as Trending reshuffles and active stake and eyes return to the pool. It might not work that way at all but at the very worst, we continue on having a very broken economy for a little longer until the next proposal comes along.
What I want from steem in the short-term are consistent moves toward economic improvement that encourages development and participation. Not just for the 20,000 active people here now, but for the 20,000,000 that could be here if this shit gets sorted out well, or the 200,000,000 that comes after that. If a witness is playing the short game they might get away with a bit of Steem now, but they would lose the potential for a mass of value later. When it comes to building a startup, economy or personal financial security - don't look short.
I don't think the witnesses are out to get me, nor do I think that they always have my best interest at heart - But my best interests are my responsibility and regardless of change or pain, I back myself to be able to adapt, survive and possibly even thrive.
What did you want from Steem again?
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]