Yeah, I get what you are saying.
Right now we have value subjective voting that does the "mining" / post rewards or whatever you want to call it.. Plus the witnesses that facilitate this.
Not sure we'll ever see POW mining come back.
No worries, It is certainly not the easiest crypto to get your hands on unless you're a highly supported witness, a well voted blogger or someone who can afford to buy STEEM.
RE: Open Letter To Steem Community