Ugh, you said it all perfectly, my friend...I was surprised that buying votes was even allowed to begin with when I first joined Steemit, let alone this cycle of promotion, reward, and delegation. Steemit has built what appears to be a self-sustaining and growing ecosystem, though all of its intricate ins and outs are far too complex for most to understand, and the openness of the platform and lack of monetization regulation has led to the opposite of what it proclaims to promote: Profit first, quality content and community second. I have read a fair number of opinions lately recommending quality commenting over posting and promoting, so maybe there's a small bastion of hope for the time being, but nothing will change until Steemit takes some credible steps to give minnows a fair shake and put content and community first.