Subsidize downvotes (cheaper downvotes, separated pool)
This sounds somewhat similar to @transisto's suggestion way back. I've had it in mind to create an off chain solution using a community flag account to achieve this but, unfortunately, lack the time nor funding to really make it a thing any time soon.
I had unvoted you as witness when I noticed you had what I would call apostacized to vote farming / selling as I had formerly understood you were against such practices.
Reading your post, I understand why you did that and personally cannot fault you. I think you and I may think somewhat similarly albeit our stake being at different levels. I am but a minnow and have invested in Steem with apprehension understanding the economic flaws and how my ethics would place me at a disadvantage compared to my peers.
I still feel this way but because of my technical aptitude and still considering putting more money in to support the communities / projects that I am a part and banking on my skills and engagement to set me apart from the greedy.
Still yet, is there hope for my kind if the top 20 do not make a change? It's a difficult decision and the inflation is concerning when it is so easy to abuse the distribution of rewards towards activities that are essentially meaningless.
All things considered, I think you put forth some very compelling arguments for the witnesses to consider and thank you for that. I have decided it is best to add you back to my witness votes as a result for what it's worth.
The current economy is directly incentivizing spam and abuse across the board. I think previously I was just seeing the result of the equation (as in economic incentives provided by the protocol) and thought the culture should change. Then later I was convinced by @trafalgar's argument that it's just a matter of aligning profit maximization to valuable activities that should be rewarded the highest. We can have very engaging and fruitful communities off the chain, but on chain the best way is to just vote-farm to keep up stakes with the rest, which is an unfortunate situation. If they only fix this a couple years from now, other communities that don't have Steem's best interest would outgrow users who did not participate in vote-farming by a long mile. Tough call to make really. Maybe the best question most builders on the platform should ask: why fight a misaligned economy out of your pocket?