Hmm. I liked @wiser's comment, but your response is good as well. I'm certainly not one to have the answer, though I do love game theory, so I will just keep trying to figure this system out until I have a better idea. 

I don't suppose there is any way to eliminate whales in any environment. We just need to make sure they can't smother any one. I see there is a lot of action on here to compete for that effect.

I came in as a newbie in July, and learned quickly that I wasn't going to get thousands of dollars on a single payout (unlike those *trending* posts). So I spent some time trying to figure out how it did work (favoring the whales and all), and I figured out where I could fit into it, given that I do not want to spend significant time marketing my work or trying to attract whale votes. For me, I can count on every third post or so earning upwards of 50 to 75 cents. This means that I post more often and I don't put in inordinate amounts of effort into my posts. It also means that I comment wherever I can because I can often make just as much on a comment as on a post. 

My point is I look at the system as it is, and I figure out how to make it work for me, including what its limitations are. Every cent that I earn on a post is a cent I would not earn writing the same post on Facebook, so I consider all earnings to be a bonus. It's really a matter of expectations and perspective. If I want to gain influence (Steem Power) on this platform faster than I'm earning it, all I have to do is buy Steem on any exchange that carries it, send it here, and power it up. It doesn't matter who I am, where I come from, how many whales I knew at the beginning or now. You, I, or anyone can become a whale just by buying in. I can't think of too many systems in this world that are more equalizing than that. Sure, you have to have the money (or some other kind of resource) to put into it. But it's a surprisingly low amount of money to buy some significant influence here. The entry point is far lower than anything you're going to find in the fiat world. So even if it still has features which favor the "haves" over the "have nots," I still consider it to be a vast improvement. In general I've found two reasons that people post to complain: 

1. the authors are genuinely frustrated because their experience on Steemit is not matching their expectations, and they probably need to adjust their expectations. In some cases the authors aren't really willing to take the time to learn how it really works in order to set more realistic expectations.

2. Complaining posts actually have been quite lucrative in the past so they're worth a shot to get some upvotes and payouts.

That's my take anyway. I'm a happy Steemit minnow. Right now I'm pretty active. But I have been known to take fairly long breaks too, as part of assessing my involvement here has to do with having other things going on in life which pay more (both in terms of money and other things), so it's a constant juggling act.

Do you want to favor the rich, or the poor? hhmmmm.
Either your with us or you're with the terr....crapitalist. (joking)

Do you have suggestion for a noob on what can be done?