I'm just going to add a few thoughts here. I am not a witness. I really do not know a lot about the inner cogs and what's all necessary to keep Steemit running. What you wrote makes perfect sense in a lot of ways. And anyone, like me, who reads your post may get up in arms and rattle their pitchforks about how unfair it all seems.
That being said
I have been personally vetting the people I've voted for witness. I want to be an informed member of the community, and I want to know what my witnesses are doing for the good of us all. Many of my witness selections are not in the top 19 - but they have one very important thing in common - their community participation and engagement. They keep us apprised of their current and future initiatives. Many of the witnesses I follow regularly opt out of payout posts. Many of them use their power to help curation and pay-it-forward measures. No one is twisting anyone's thumbs to become a witness - those who have the knowledge and wherewithal "volunteer" to do so, hopefully with a good mix of philanthropy and investment strategy. There should be compensation. But I personally don't think their compensation is at the detriment to us (Steemit & our community). Maybe I'm being naive, but I am trying to learn.
Reading many of these comments, there is a certain amount of disagreement with your post. I expect a certain amount of healthy debate. I'm also glad to see that Dan responded. Here's the thing - I may be a rookie here, but I do not get a sense of nepotism and good ol' boy arrangements. Good witness candidates are climbing the ranks and the ones in the top 19 are not guaranteed their positions.