"... reward people for simply being here is just pissing money down the drain. And you're right - this has been done repeatedly and the results are clear: It does not work."

There are examples of delegations for this exact purpose of working to grow the market for Steem: the original delegations Steemit made to onboard new users. Delegations for larger accounts, such as Dtube, also seem to be doing good.

I haven't made a meticulous analysis, but during periods when Steem users were increasing, those delegations were integral to that growth, and Dtube is approaching a form, IMHO, that may enable them to grow by absorbing disenchanted youtubers. I am shocked they aren't enabling folks whose content is demonetized on youtube to be monetized when ported to Dtube, and think if they do, they will quickly gain import as that will enable youtubers to keep their youtube channels, but to get around demonetization by migrating their audience to Dtube where their content and audience can provide substantial economic benefits.

Not really disagreeing with your overall points, just pointing out that specific delegations of the Steemit stake can do a lot of good.