You are so right, it stinks! I've nothing against any one earning bucks, but the concept of free speech, I believe, should be policed by foolishness and humiliation, and not by intellect, education or past earnings. The boys who made apple in their garage had no respect poured upon them, until after they had privatised themselves for a while in their garage from where they proved their idea and opinions. The mouth upon many will cut their reputation without any help, and the ability to earn will raise the reputation of those who become publicly known also without any more than word of mouth. The whole concept of paid advertising and marketing is flawed by lies, and money being a measure of the ability of a person to do this or that is also flawed, as it only points to that person's ability to accumulate. Reputation itself is built by one's stance and the practice of one's word, and has no relation whatsoever to the site's measure of reputation or the perceived 'kudos', and is rendered a scam and a lie by the very practices in deceit that have deceived the givers of such incremental gathering, many of whom are far more worthy to receive than those receivers whose gathered reputation is neither true to their worth, nor any real measure of the true worth of steemit.com.
Keep on keeping on.
May the blessings be.
Resteemed.