I understand why he was doing it, but at the same time the SBI has a very long return on investment and I believe it does help people stay engaged. I am pretty sure he has rethought it now and has hanged behavior a bit, but like I said, I do believe he was acting in the best interest of the blockchain from his perspective, and I can't fault that. Much better than using his stake to vote himself and a couple friends, which is much more like stealing than the downvotes.
Over time with SMTs, the Steem earnings may be of far less importance than they are now, unless one is an investor. I do think that eventually the STEEM tap on content will close. One day, not necessarily soon though.