making changes to the blockchain isn't impossible if there is direct evidence of the current system being heavily abused. and uhh, yeah, it is.
I don't know ned like you do but steemit will not survive forever if one of the driving forces for content is massive whale abuse... when whales are abusive it incentivizes minnows to go away... leaving a massive chamber of abusive whales.
Considering the blockchain PROBABLY won't be changed.. it's not surprising ned is probably a part of this group too.
There is a reason steemit has been stuck at sub 500k users for over a year now.. change in the blockchain could really allow the platform to flourish