It is important that we evolve out of this behavior

Excellent post @motoengineer!

This makes me wish there was a whale-o-scope that users could refer posts to, as an opportunity for great posts to get a great upvote. It seems you've already attained this payout; but, I'm wondering if bots are involved.

The referrals would be limited to one user (rank 52 or less) per week in an effort to gain new users much-needed attention. So, 52 Steemians a year would receive a generous payout.

I like your thought processes about how Steem could add competition to currency transactions.

Best regards.

Peace.