edit for incorrect styling
Check out how much time it took Reddit to reach its current status. Reddit, after 4 months of its existence, was in a much worse position than Steem is now.
I don't think Reddit had a "working" example to copy. Steem has. So yeah I'm surprised they didn't push it further from the start. But you are right, let's wait and see.
Incorrect. The (big fat) whales can't be paid unless the the author gets paid. And the author gets paid significantly more (3 times more) than the whales.
My point was that you need votes to get paid, even a tiny amount. So people who want to get rich target the whales. Why not, but that a bad side-effect on the quality and diversity of the subject.