This is a great piece, and deserves far more attention than it's likely to get. (It's also beautifully written).
where people's voices no longer matter, their wallets do
This. Right here, for me, is the core of it all, the something rotten in the state of Denmark that has bothered me almost from the start of my time here. I don't know if this applies to the average person, but that is what the average writer was hoping to escape when they came here. Most of us already live lives dominated by the super-rich (whether we admit it to ourselves or not). Replicating this servitude, and somehow making it worse - this is not what most people had in mind when they joined.
And that is not to say that those with more Steem power don't deserve to have more influence. But simply that those with lots of power don't leverage the platform against itself and force smaller users to give up money in order to be properly heard.
Everyone should have an opportunity to be heard but not necessary have a right to be heard. Money can be an factor that impacts one's success, but it can't be the only factor.