The issue I foresee here is the patience level. Small payouts work for those in the long game, but this could also be another reason why the site does not have a major US following. Americans want instant gratification.

True. My thought has always been that people do FB and Twitter for free, so we need apps here that would be able to draw people at scale, even if there were no rewards. No idea how to really accomplish that, though. The rewards always seem to sit front and center.

Less STEEM should = higher price, right? I'm no developer (much respect to those who are), so I'm not versed in everything here, but this means the price should gradually rise over those 12 years, correct?

I'd say that it probably puts upwards pressure on the price, but there are also many other factors in play, so there are no guarantees. If you want to see what the curve looks like (last quarter), you can check here.