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RE: Steem is ESSENTIALLY a Ponzi Scheme - It’s nothing like the $USD
All of this really assumes that the site and the content have no value whatever. Is that your assertion?
Bitcoin doesn't monetise either. There are no ads on Bitcoin. Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme? Is the entire system of Bitcoin dependent on new investors who want to make money from it? Or is the price of Bitcoin actually dependent on the demand of people who already own bitcoins, who have perhaps held them for many years?
Good questions.
"All of this really assumes that the site and the content have no value whatever. Is that your assertion?"
The content has value, but in order to actualise that value, it must be traded for something. In other words, value is relative. Existing sites actualise the value of their content with ad-revenue or subscription models. On Steem, content isn't traded for anything, instead new currency is issued from thin air as payment. The only connection between Steem and the physical economy is through new investors coming in.
"Bitcoin doesn't monetise either. There are no ads on Bitcoin. Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?"
Had Bitcoin been pre-mined and immediately dumped, it would be best described as a Ponzi scheme. However, through consensus, it acts as a store of value and may eventually turn into a stable currency. In order to represent value, it needs to be impartial and fair, so that value can be tracked reliably. The key difference is that Steem uses an algorithm that artificially reward users with currency for specific actions that fit a certain agenda, defying free market economics, whereas Bitcoin is a neutral, independent store of value based on proof of work, which is rooted in free market economics.