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RE: Why a Steem Power reward cap would be as controversial as the block size cap in Bitcoin [FAIRNESS vs FREEDOM?]
The chain supports per-post-cap already, but that option is not shown in current UI so far.
It might support it but when would it be justified to interfere to that degree in the market? Some kind of black swam event or because of some vague perception like fairness? Fairness is subjective enough that it could open Pandora's box to guide development into directions which cost freedom in favor of fairness and that is what I am a bit concerned about.
For people who see Steemit as a tool which promotes freedom, either from censorship or financial freedom, then having this sort of cap would possibly put their dreams to sleep. It's sort of like the American dream sells the United States economy, and in Steem the dream is to get from minnow to whale, to get a lot of Steem Power, not from buying it but from blogging, and people compete in their own ways to try to be the top blogger, and this is good as long as it's fun.
But the problem I see is not enough gamification. I think @ned would be able to benefit Steem more from hiring an expert on gamification to improve the economics in a way that make Steemit sticky and fun, so people want to buy or earn Steem Power for the unique privileges it provides. If we make it harder to earn it would be like dramatically raising difficulty for miners, but then if Steem is really cheap then people who earned their money outside the community, can simply buy ownership while this cap is in place.
The issue with the cap is we already have a situation where post frequency is capped, where payouts are capped at 30 days, and now there is discussion of what could be interpreted as a salary cap? Top bloggers will feel punished for being successful which is not a good psychological element for something which you want to be fun. The perceived fairness gain is great but it's measured in dollars not Steem Power which is the issue, as bloggers who might not even care what Steem is might post just to get easier to earn Steem Dollars.
I do see short term benefit of perceived fairness, but I see long term costs which outweigh it. If someone can find a way to implement it without the long term costs I could change my mind and I offered a solution which I thought was a good compromise, which is less payout in Steem Dollars and more payout in Steem Power, but same reward size.