RE: "Losing 20%" : Low cost for high gain?
Here's a thought worth mentioning:
As Steem increases in value, holders of steem see their holdings go up at the same rate.
Authors, however, see their author rewards go up at a slower rate. This is because, as steem becomes more valuable, more users, those who abandoned Steem when it was down, come back and start voting with their power, diluting the pool.
Now, I don't have a problem with that trend. But it does mean that holders have more to gain from improvements in steem than authors.
You talk about holders taking risk. Well, I know lots of folks who treat Steem like a full-time job that pays far less than minimum wage. They're trying to build a name for themselves, they're taking their energy and attention away from other endeavors so that they can invest money, yes, but also time and thought in making Steem a valuable platform by bringing good content to it. Those are the people who will be most impacted by a straight 20% cut to author rewards. Those are the people you want to attract and retain. HODLers are fine, but they aren't, long-term, what will drive other people to come to the chain. And that's what will make steem valuable. Yes, if current holders dump their stake there will be a temporary drop in value. But that would be a good thing. We'd get a more real view of the value of steem. I speak as someone who has also invested real money in steem. The people who are holding just because they're waiting for it to rise in value are the ones who will sell when it reaches its arbitrary high point in their eyes, so they are still making it fall in value, just at a different point in time.
Steem's value is dictated by the value you place on being able to reward your content creators. That should be front and center.
Holders should have more direct to gain but, one thing that you are forgetting is that it is the development of the ecosystem that empowers contributors. That development comes at a cost somewhere and the authors gain someewhere too. For a lot of authors to have opportunity on Steem, a lot of development needs to take place.
Those are the people who will be most impacted by a straight 20% cut to author rewards. Those are the people you want to attract and retain.
Again, what is forgotten is that those coming in are not losing anything, they are agreeing to participate at the current rule set. Did you know that once upon a time the author rewards were 50%, not 75%? The reason it didn't work at the time was because of the poor distribution at the start but, it would likely be somewhat okay now.
The 'different point in time' is quite a vital component don't you think considering that there is not many buying at 'this point in time'.
SSteem at the moment is a minimum viable product and those that are here now should understand this. THe entire BC industry is in its infancy yet people are trying to live off steem. Good luck to them but, they are likely in for a rough road , especially if they aren't wanting to power up.