The problem seems to me to be the big guys either vote mainly for themselves and/or a tight circle of friends. Now that is totally their prerogative of course, however what it does is leaves the smaller accounts with very little rewards that are simply not worth the effort expended. This starts a system where for every one person that joins through the front door, three quit through the back door. The simple cure is to follow the lead set by @fulltimegeek where he has used his considerable SP to support and motivate a multitude of folks that he feels provide good for the site.