I haven't been able to identify a pattern. I do agree that more up-votes is not that important. I have had post with 4 up-votes earn $7.00 and posts with 200 up-votes generate less than a dollar. I haven't had a single post generate more than 80 cents in over two weeks.
It is only a scam if your in it for the money. I think of it as free marketing to a Global audience. You never know who may like something you post and what it may lead to.
As to accumulating steem, I dont have an interest in owning any cryptocurrency but I would certainly be happy if by chance the steem accumulated over time became a real nest egg.
The world has been going crazy since the beginning of time. What makes things seem so much worse these days is the speed in which information travels because of technology. I do agree that things are out of wack and society as a whole is at a low point. I attribute it mostly to selfishness, greed, a lack of morals and faith in God. The Government is always planning something sinister. All we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best.
I read that ZeroHedge article. Interesting but nothing new. I read ZeroHedge for a long time and I like the content for the most part. I have see it slowly become less controversial of the past year and I dont like that but I guess they are trying to stay afloat in a rigged system like us all.