Ned, love your work. Please ignore all the whinging replies. I don't think SBD and STEEM would be where they are now with out prospect of SMTs. There are now tons of original content creators earning a living here, not just a select few, and we thank you for that.
I am utterly perplexed as to why anyone is unhappy right now. Work on your blog, work on your network -> make ridiculous money. What's the problem? If you can't make money here with SBD at $9, the problem isn't Steem.
The SMT effect:
I second that.
The discussion is about building a better community long-term, not about making more money short-term.
Market is in a bull run right now so posts are more profitable currently but overall profitability doesn't imply fairness in reward pool distribution.
Working on your blog/network may give you ridiculous amounts of money but self-voting gives you even more, and some folks think that is a problem.
SP renting and self-voting are issues that doesn't go away with a high coin price, in fact they are amplified.