So I guess the ratio between enthusiast developers and actual users is not right. And without enough users all the developement doesn't really add to the value of steem and its social media platforms.
I'm not sure if Steemit Inc. is listening much. I'd find it perfect if they only took care of the 'infrastructure' and others did the developements. The workers proposal system might be a step in that direction; there one could implement your idea of burn/1 vote. It would be quite a step if this vote's value would not be in relation to rep or stake, but I guess this is a step too far; a lot of people on top rather like that hirarchy :(
There's a common misconception in crypto in which people believe it's truly decentralised. As much as we wish that were the case, I can't name a single cryptocurrency that has survived entirely through community alone. True decentralisation.
Each is at least governed by some central authority, even bitcoin. The difference is, is that these central authorities have steady roadmaps that they stick to, as well as encouraging users to vote on changes they see beneficial to the platform in a decentralised manner. Steem does not do this. Steem has witnesses, but let's be real: most don't really do anything. The real users have zero say in anything, despite raising their voices constantly.
There's the DAO working proposal coming on the upcoming Hard Fork where users can vote for worker proposals.
The news about it was actually on Condesk's front page for a while
https://www.coindesk.com/steemit-to-automate-development-funding-with-new-dao