Excellent idea, and one that I think should be coupled with another that I came across recently.
As a brand new steemian I am finding the landscape here to be fairly off-putting in terms of what it would take to turn involvement with this platform into anything that experienced true growth, regardless of the quality of your content. This is largely because of the issue that you're highlighting here. There is true cronyism developing within the platform, and the situation is exacerbated by this phenomena of dead whales. Frankly, I didn't know such a thing existed before reading this post, but having read it I now have even less respect for the trajectory that the steemit platform is on.
I tend to be a big picture kind of guy. I look at overall trends and see patterns as opposed to looking at the nitty gritty detail of the world.
The pattern I see being replicated here on steemit is one of insularity and self promotion, with touches of clique behavior and, in effect, class segregation and disenfranchisement.
Your idea in this post should be coupled with a diminishing return algorithm that continuously reduces the reward given to an author for repeated votes to the same author over and over again.
I don't know what structure that would have to take mathematically, but it would encourage the use of steem power as a tool to help new material, quality material, to be discovered.
Hey @serapium! Thanks for the in depth comment. You are right, the system cannot survive indefinitely in it's current state. But, part of the problem with a decentralized platform is you don't leave anyone in charge to mend the issues. As long as Steem Inc do not address these issues with the overwhelming SP they have at their disposal to crush the evildoers (an action they show no inclination to take) then there really isn't anyone with the power and incentive to change the system.
The diminishing returns theory you put forth has been brought up before, with a couple of people actually going to the length of writing the code which would cause votes to provide diminished returns.
Two good follows in this area, if you don't already follow them, are @timcliff and @rycharde. They have both encouraged this sort of amendment to the reward pool previously.
As for us minnows.... we just have to do the best we can with the tools we have on hand. I will say, I pull my SBD rewards out of the system instead of exchanging for Steem and powering up because I feel the need to diversify my holdings into other crypto in the event that Steem were to crumble under the weight of the current system.