Welcome to steemit! You seem like an interesting individual. You have some valid concerns, and they are concerning.. But perhaps I could help add some context or light to some of it.
and not just what ends up at the top of trending because that person bought the most votes. Unfortunately, right now it doesn't quite feel that way. I would love to stand corrected though and hear that I'm wrong, that steemit really is an equal playground for EVERYONE, where those who produce valuable content can get rewarded accordingly, and those who post rubbish won't be successful in the long run.
What's happening here actually happens pretty much everywhere else. Both on other social media like Facebook and YouTube and in the real world. People who pay, can get more. It's just free market principles to an extent.
I'm not saying steemit has everything perfect either, I think things could use a bit of refining, but.. Steemit is sort of like a microcosm of the real world. You're going to find pretty much all the corruption here you find elsewhere, BUT.. I'd say in much lower amounts. For two reasons.
#1 everything is out there for everyone to see.
#2 steemit has more freedom minded, respectful and politically conscious people.
There are some trying to address the shortcomings, and you could help them if you believe in that. Though.. This in my opinion is sort of an experiment in freedom, and there will probably be better social media before too long, but I think steemit is still a really great place to be and I spend a lot of time here. In fact, I still think steemit is the best social media out there right now. And it's bigger than steemit, it's steem with dtube and everything else, though.. I would suggest you perhaps just try to look at it for what it essentially is.. An experiment in a better direction. It's not perfect, but neither is society or the real world either. Yet one of the coolest things about steemit is you tend to meet a lot of other leaders in their fields and just general and good people who are looking to sort of escape the old paradigm and create something new. :) The money making aspect is great, the lack of censorship is even more important to me, and the people... Make it just a totally awesome place in my opinion.
Hope that helps in some way! Please let me know if you have any more questions about the platform and I'll do my best to try to help answer, or if I can't, I'll try to find someone who can.
Cheers!