Many people who havn't liked Steemit complain about issues like this. It's an issue of the culture of the site which is constantly changing and has room to be improved as this is a young platform. I disagree with your that's life sentiment.
On Reddit people who spam or steal content are often downvoted. On Youtube there's mechanisms to have your content removed when it's reposted by others. I think the community as a whole should put more thought into what they are rewarding.
Again its not my site, I don't make the rules, just giving my opinion of what I think would improve this community.