And where are the investors now? If they don't see the value in it now, a shorter power down period isn't going to bring them back or bring new ones.

Exactly, Steem.Inc, @ned and his team are not Steemit, but they were the biggest investors (Steem holders). What did they do? They dumped. Did they put the interests of the community before their own? No. Imagine if they had the 4 week power down back then instead of the 13 week. Take a look at the Steem price chart. It has never recovered.

This post from @lordbutterfly is an excellent review of how things work around here when there are "investors" in the platform. They don't invest for the community or the platform, they invest for themselves, otherwise it would be a donation for a charity.

https://steemit.com/steem/@lordbutterfly/2-year-anniversary-post-steem-has-changed

As I said, experience has informed my position.