RE: Why witnesses earn far too much money by @shla-rafia. Explained based on a quote made by witness @klye
In my view there are witnesses that make way too much, and there are witnesses that don't make nearly enough. You are right that the top witnesses do get paid a lot, but to do it right - it is not as easy as it sounds.
We are responsible for running our nodes 24/7. Just this past weekend, I was out of town staying at a cabin with no internet, and I got an alert on my cell phone that one of my witness nodes went down. I had to drop what I was doing and drive into town where there was internet access, so I could login and address the problem with my node. Getting woken up at 3 in the morning to address a server problem is not uncommon.
In addition to the technical side, witnesses are expected to be on top of everything that is happening in the community, and have an understanding of how the code works. We also need to do things that add value to the platform and community if we expect to earn any votes.
Also, the pay you quoted assumes a stable STEEM price around what it is now. Many witnesses (myself included) were still there running their services when STEEM was around 8 cents. While it would be nice if the price stayed where it was now for a year (and even went higher) - it is no guarantee.
If you were to find a qualified person that was able to do this through a regular job interview process and explain to them all that it entails, a lot of the people who would be fit for the job would turn it down because it doesn't pay enough. People that have the qualifications to do this job have a lot of other options for where to spend their time.
In general, the witnesses who are good at what they do are not in it because of the money. Again, with the skill sets they have to do the job well, they could make more doing something else. They are here because they care deeply about the platform, and want to see it successful. Being a witness puts them in a position to make that happen.
Going back to my opening paragraph though, I do feel that there are a lot of witnesses in the top ranks that are "coasting" and ones in the lower ranks that are working their tails off. In my view, the best thing that can happen is for the stakeholders to pay attention to what the witnesses are up to, and use their votes accordingly. If it takes a lot of hard work and adding value to get a top witness position + stay there, then that is what the people who want the position bad enough will do.
If anyone who is qualified for the position feels that they can do a better job than the witnesses that are currently there, I encourage you to run a campaign. I'd love to see more qualified and valuable witnesses make their way to the top.
Exactly what Tim just said. Even witnesses not in the top 100 have to work their asses off. It's full time responsibilities, always on call. I've got email notifications when a service my team offers stops working, I plan algorithms to help others' projects while waiting on appointments, ordering food, whatever that grants me a minute to sit down and think. I'm in the 120s. It's not easy and it shouldn't be easy to get votes. A good portion of witnesses who got up there aren't the original insiders and legitimately deserve what they achieved. If it wasn't for witnesses there'd be no third-party services, there'd be no projects, there'd be no communities, etc.
Further, without the prospect of rewards there'd be no way to attract high talent. For the @guiltyparties witness with its 120something rank there is a solid, highly educated, professional team with a project manager, a blockchain developer, and entrepreneurs. We started this to build on the STEEM blockchain. There are other witnesses out there who are witnesses for a living. While they receive rewards, the amount of effort and time they dedicate to it equates to what they would make in a full time job. Pretty much anyone who runs a witness successfully has the skills to get a high-paying job in the IT sector. Those who don't can't even get set up.