You could essentially do that by powering down or using steem earnings and giving them to someone you want to support. Delegation on the otherhand gives them power that they didn't grow, they didn't purchase and they can do what they will with it. I think it is important to realize you could do what you were stating without delegation. It was also easier to track what was going where. Delegation actually made it easier to game the system. It most definitely was taken advantage of. Are there some people that benefited from it to good ends? Yes. I have a little over 1000 I am delegating at the moment. I know it's not much, my account was once 20,000 steem power. I lost faith in the direction steem was going some time ago. It had (and still does if people start thinking as @ats-david indicates) potential. Ease of joining is a big deal and can help. Yet also not being voted to oblivion because someone doesn't like your ideas is a big deal... especially here where that is financial oblivion. I haven't pulled my delegation because some of it is other accounts of my OWN, with only two or three exceptions due to the tangible service those accounts offer to steem.