That is definitely a fact. The days when someone starting a local hardware store and "doing well" in their community was regarded as "success" has come and gone. The days of the local high school student who was a star golfer becoming the pro at the local golf course and it was regarded as "success" are also gone.

This whole "winner take all" mindset is also psychologically destructive because it also creates a dynamic in which there not only is ONE winner, but everybody else walks away feeling like a LOSER. And that gradually chips away at your psyche, and (I believe) can probably track to the increasing subtext of RAGE we see in society.

UBI may definitely be a solution to counter the situation; the question is where will it come from? The factory owners who replace some Joe Schmoe with a robot isn't about to give up the incremental profit from no longer having to pay Joe to make toasters.

As for Steemit, I believe one of the essential components here is "patience." Whenever someone is whining a lot, it's almost always some "short term issue." And often tied to unrealistic expectations ("I quit my job to blog full time...") that basically supplies evidence of individual poor judgment, not flaws in the system.

I was here and blogging daily through 7-cent Steem when many people either outright STOPPED, or they were singing the doomsday song that it was "the end of Steemit." And yet? Here I am.

I think you have the right approach, from your description... just keep plugging away at it. In the end, consistency will probably win the day.