Regards to the inflation concerns this is a quote from the White Paper:

Because Steem wants to encourage long-term growth, it is hardwired to allocate 9 STEEM to
Steem Power (SP) stakeholders for every 1 STEEM it creates to fund growth through
contribution incentives. Over time this drives the ratio of the total STEEM value of Steem
Power balances to the total of STEEM balances toward 9:1 . (It seems likely that the ratio will
be somewhat greater than 9:1 due to continued net Powering Up of the newly printed
STEEM.) It also means that long-term holders are almost completely protected from the
dilution used to fund growth.

So I take it, that holding Steem should be somewhat protected from the effects of the dilution from the inflation.