Referral system is easily game-able, and will just enable people to create 100,000 accounts and profit from it. The only way a ref system could work is to pay it out over time and from a share of say the curation/author rewards from the new comers posts. This will force at least some level of interaction on the new accounts.

Plus there is already a ref system to an extent in place, you get a portion of steem delegated to you upon sign up, and if the new comers like your content and are willing to support you they can click a button and show that support. Or follow you on steemian / steemvoter or something.

I don't know how it will die if new users are not added however, throwing more users at it when things are not set up just so seems like a bandaid solution to the issues of poor distributions and top heavy voting power.