Your mention of the good old boys club is bang on the money! Thank you for sharing your thought here. The classism is very real and those who are in positions of power tend to fight tooth and nail to keep said positions.
As for the whole situation it can be rectified but I'm almost entirely certain that those who are exiting will try and do as much damage on the way out as they can. Any FUD or drama that can be sparked will likely be grasped at but at the end of the day those whining and bitching about things are the same ones that generally are literally doing sweet fuck all towards improving the situation.
The proposal system is almost impossible for a newcoming developer or even an established developer on HIVE to get their proposal voted hard enough unless of course you've got the blessing of the HIVE bildeburgs.. And while a large percentage of the "elites" of HIVE are genuinely decent folks the problem is mixed within the elite ranks are sociopaths and drama queens.
The top 20 only include those tasks to running the network and its business side as long as they're in favour with those who own the most staek.. which ultimately is the ones that have been on the top forever.. The DPOS system by design seems to encourage groups of individuals keeping eachother in top witness spots over the community vote really deciding.
Buying HIVE as the price drops as the weak hands exit.. Honestly I'm excited for some of the bad seeds to leave and firesale their tokens while doing so sso they can be redistributed and ultimately end up in the hands of people more deserving.