How can you say "Slow confirmation times and transaction fees are the bigger problems. Bitcoin does not seem to have a fix for these looming obstacles."? Did you not read the article you are using as a reference.
From @modprobe very own article that you quoted: "There are some who think the fees are set up the way they are to subsidize Lightning Networks, which probably will solve the scaling issues". Lightning Network is exactly that: a (very probable) fix to scalability issues.
I agree that Steem is better than Bitcoin on so many levels, but some of the things you are saying here are completely wrong
So they add a third party patch and have to pay off people to run it? How does that make anything cheaper or more efficient? Listen, I give those guys credit for creating a fix, but it's messy and I don't see how adding more layers and costs ultimately makes this any better.