The whole system is indeed elaborate, and it is taking me a while to get my head around it. I do think the devs have reasonably good intentions though. Sure, they want to get rich, but they seem insanely dedicated to the success of Steemit. I think your prediction about less money going around might be true but slightly off.
I think what will happen is the (content quality) bar will be raised significantly, to the point that only extremely unique and valuable content will be rewarded. We will also see the emergence of niche communities within Steemit, where people can be rewarded for being excessively entertaining, knowledgeable, talented, or what have you. Posting a couple of links to some skateboard tricks on YouTube won't be enough... nor should it.