I'm right there with ya (a few points below, actually) but there's a reason why most people won't upvote us in the 40s and 50s. It's not because our content is good or bad, it's because our content is not predicted to trend. For someone to upvote you, they are literally betting that the post will trend (in 99% of cases). That's what Steemit is asking them to do - to speculate on trends. Once you get good at that, your rep number will rise and you can then determine trends on your own. But at 46 (and 44, respectively) we can only jump in by predicting what will trend currently. The good news is that when you get good at these predictions, the curation rewards still make this a profitable place for minnows and dolphins.
I agree with you 100%