Truthfully: no.
I've written blogs for money before and it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
If Steemit didn't offer rewards for posting then I very much doubt I'd put the time & effort that I have invested so far.
The upside:
I'm free to write about pretty much anything I want to without attempting to monetise through content marketing, it's a stimulating pursuit and I have grown from the experience I've had to date and (hopefully) 'experts' aren't encouraged to push people towards a product for sharing their knowledge.
Just my $0.02
I appreciate your honesty. Blogging is no easy task.