So some of the ideas that were being floated around here (like suggestions to make the witness votes expire after a period of time) are good then?
there's only so much I pay attention to on the actual money side of things even though that's what I initially ambled over for, I'm a bit hopeless XD

Depends entirely on how they're implemented, but ultimately yeah, such ideas are quite constructive in regards to approaching decentralisation in a matter that ensures it's fair and no single party remains in control.
Such an idea would also increase productivity of those who are running the nodes, given they're essentially performing in a constant election where activity speaks for itself.