In all honesty, you need to explore more to understand how cryptocurrency works. Steem is a cryptocurrency that is designed to be mined via publications and curation. You needed to ask some questions before arriving at some conclusions. First of all go and read more about cryptocurrency. A search in google will give you some lead.
Somebody would have obliged to explain to you how this place works if you had asked.
First, nobody is funding here. It is a decentralized blockchain. Steem cryptocurrency is a code written by some visionary guys @dan and @ned. Cryptocurrency in simple term is an electronic money for the people. Whatever steem is worth is given to it by the people and nothing more.
If you get to understand how many lives those two guys have saved by dreaming big, then you will not be that negative about this platform irrespective of how you feel about it.
Some homeless people have gotten roof over there heads through here. Some very sick people have had their medical bills paid from here. Some hungry people have got food on their table from this same platform. For me that is the success of the platform.
There may be issues that need to be corrected. There may be people trying to expoit the system. I do not want to absolve anyone on the platform of any wrong doing. You cannot simply blame steemit platform for anybody's action.
For instance, there is a case of someone who created over 3000 steemit accounts with the aim to suck the platform dry to the detriment of the good people on it. @ausbitbank raised the issue in a post he made a while ago.
Now, I must tell you that I know noone before joining here. I have been trying to grow just like everyone else. It has not been without its challenges. I have seen somethings I feel should be changed.
Steemit is a going concern. We must all join hands to support it and make it succeed and not bring it down.