As a source of income I understand it is not reliable, and probably frustrating especially in tough times.
The beginning of any World changing project is sure to have issues along the way, and the truth is, the whole crypto market was inflated last year by the tether situation and that has made this year a LONG one.
If you are using your Steem immediately, then yes this past month was terrible.
But if you can keep reinvesting your earnings now into steem power, which because of the lower prices will give you more steem in earnings, when steem goes back up, you will have a much stronger account.