This is something that has come up many times over my time here in different ways. Whenever I have talked about changing the system, rewards or suggesting powering up, the argument inevitably arises that I need to consider people who need to live off Steem, that without it they will not be able to pay their bills or starve. I have said it before but, I *do* think about those people. However, they all need to think a lot more too. 

This isn't going to be about those that rely on it powering up although it should be and it isn't about them supporting the community etc, it is about the idea of reliance on Steem.

If people haven't realized, the world is a damn mess that is filled with inequalities that may not need to happen however, there they are, happening. In order to do something about these things, we need to differently than what we have done to get to this point but, that doesn't mean throw away everything either. 

<div class="pull-right">https://i.imgur.com/eTPyUjQ.jpg</div>

You see, part of the problem on Steem is that people don't really care how things work or where things are going as long as their immediate needs are being met. many do not seem to recognize that the platform is still in Beta and is subject to change at almost anytime. What is the most frustrating is that those who *need to live off Steem* are also among the most clueless when it comes to the inner working of the platform, and only prick up their ears when someone mentions something that might cost them their lunch. 

I am aware of the problems many people face in this world and often am *painfully* aware of them. Yet, trying to only cater for those here to buy food for their table now is going to potentially cost millions of others the ability to do the same later. There are only about 60,000 active accounts here per week and it is already struggling.

This is an economy and unless the entire world changes the way it operates, there are still market forces at play which means that for charity to happen, someone needs to have the resources to be charitable with. I am not an economist but Steem has very little market value if everyone is living off it and no one is holding. It isn't a ubiquitous currency backed by governments, it is one backed by community yet, many in the community don't want to back their portion, they just want to sell it for a meal. 

As I said, I am not an economist but, I do spend some time helping people become more self-reliant in the real world, which means building the skills and resources to be able to support themselves. The idea that people are living off Steem assuming that it is here for them to buy their lunch frustrates me no end as the system is not currently set up to be able to do this, especially on the scale it is happening. 

Yes, many *are* currently being supported but word gets out and more and more are wanting the same without the willingness to even question where the value is coming from at all. If a few significant whales dump, the price drops, if people are consistently selling everything earned from the platform, the price drops, if it looks like Steem is never going to be anything more than a place for people who don't care as long as they get their meal, the community aspect is gone and, the price drops, never to raise again. 

It is the community who provides the value to Steem and it is the community who will back it but, there has to be a a community built where people feel that they are not being taken advantage of by working there ass off only to have other people continue to sell the future they work for out from under them. 

People talk about onboarding and increasing numbers by pushing into the third world countries but, that only adds to the problem as for the most part, they are not going to buy in to the platform itself, they are going to look to extract. No one wants to talk about this because of political correctness and social suicide of course. But, this is a global economy and to be able to support a large number with nothing, there has to be a large enough number *with something.*

You can argue with me but those who have followed me consistently will likely know that the only reason I am able to support others is because I have built up the resources to support others. This isn't just the Steem Power I hold, it is in a whole range of areas including the network I am part of and the hundreds of posts where I have put myself on the line to look at issues that are not in my area to try to close gaps in my knowledge to bring them into my area.

This is something that so many of the people here do not seem to be willing to do, *improve themselves*. They are happy to take the money doing what they do but are not willing to get their hands dirty in areas with which they are uncomfortable. It might be the economics or the tech, it might be in building a network, making friends, developing content or improving their comments and a host of other things.It is this I call engagement. Not just *getting seen.*

Being engaged in the platform itself not just in the areas that earn or satisfy your own creative needs. Learning how things operate here, how the mechanics of the platform interact and how people within the community actually use the platform. 

It is a lot of work. A lot of work. A lot of work. But, if your meals depend on Steem earnings, you better do it and you better be prepared for the ways you earn to change. Because, this platform is not static and any Hardfork can tear away what you have built-up and fundamentally change your opportunities, for better or worse. 

The thing that you rely on for food, do you really understand it or are you satisfied by getting your immediate needs catered for? The problem is that if you are content as is, you are in for a rough ride because it *is not going to stay, ***'as is'***. There are going to be many changes to come and some of them that provide you shelter today will have their roofs ripped off.

This place is in its infancy and *ANYONE* who is taking the *'live off Steem approach'* is taking a massive risk but, it is going to be those with no safety net who will be hit the hardest. Yet, it seems to be those same people who are the *least* invested into the future of the very platform that could provide them, their community and countless others with future opportunities previously unimagined. 

But, that future is not here yet. It takes work to have that, it takes investment and relying on others to do all of the work and make all of the investments is a very risky position as people tend to make decisions that will benefit them, as we can see here daily. That means that the people who are backing Steem and supporting the communities within will also make decisions that will satisfy *their* needs also which for the investors, generally means attracting more investors and helping those who they think adds value to the system, not only extract it.

Yes, there are a lot of issues with various big names and whales extracting and acting like asses but, there will never be a way to counteract them if there aren't a significant number of people with enough stake to balance them out. A few will be extracting large amounts at one end, a massive number extracting large amounts at the other end and it will be the investors in the middle who are continually pressured to balance the books but not given the opportunity to grow because of extractors and the lack of people with the power and willingness to support their growth. 

What this means is that those trying for the community will all have to end up acting like either ends to satisfy their own personal goals. This will lead to even less community, less eyes, less holders and less chance for the people down at the bottom end to earn anything at all and that means, the meals stop. 

I don't want that, do you?

There is so much potential for so much good on this platform but it is going to take many people to stop thinking about their immediate needs and adjusting for a long term view. Yep, that is crap if you don't have much now but, without Steem, you will have even less. Most of the people onboarded had zero access to Steem earning until the last 6-9 months but as soon as they did, it become a revenue stream they rely on. That is insanity. 

One sunny week doesn't mean all weeks thereafter are going to be sunny. Have you packed an umbrella?

People think I am a heartless asshole and perhaps I am but, it is the heartless assholes like myself who are doing their best for the community and failing at nearly every level to make this place better for the future. The changes that will come are going to have effects on me too and it might mean that I am unable to do what I currently do now or, support the way I currently do. 

With so few small to mid-range accounts, a change could take most of them out of the water completely, then what? Are you relying on them to hold and upvote you no matter their personal position? When the next inevitable global financial crisis comes do you expect them to upvote you instead of paying their mortgage? When they lose their job to automation, do you expect them to upvote you still? When their mother, sister, or daughter gets cancer do you expect them to upvote you instead of buying medication?

With the turmoil this world faces, there are far too few accounts with stake to continually support others and as life happens, one by one they too will be driven to extract. What then, are you able to support them in their times of need or since they can no longer offer you support, they are forgotten and left to the winds?

A community is meant to offer those within a safety net and some protection from the elements of life but, it can't do that if there are so few willing to learn what it takes to be a shield, a sword and a loaf of bread. 

You want freedom but rely on the code of a Beta system with people people making decisions who might not care about you at all.

Another rant over.  

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]