Assuming Steem hits 10$ and you hold 20K Steem (just like myself) that makes my account worth 200K$ right? But they are vested...which means that in order to enjoy the fruits of my efforts (and in my case of my investment too) I need to power down some of my stake.

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Maybe the days of 30% ROI are gone, but given (currently available) delegation earnings and posting with 50/50 payouts (or using a service like @likwid to get mostly liquid rewards for posts) and (in the future) earnings from RC leasing, earning something like 10% ROI on Steem Power is and will be quite possible.

So with Steem at $10, that would be a $20,000 per year income stream, without powering down. In America, roughly the equivalent of a minimum wage job by itself, or a good supplemental income stream for someone who’s got another source of income. Without powering down.