...but specifically my bottom line is smaller...

As I noted, your post rewards are on the rise, and not by an insignificant percentage. A 25% increase in the face of a 40%+ reduction on paper is great, in my opinion. But we’ll need to see if this trend can continue and whether or not users can leverage this new “success” into further improved results in their quality, networking, and bottom line.

...my vote value is much smaller...

This is relative to whether or not the content you upvote is subjectively “popular” with other users. By itself, your vote may be worth less. But as part of a larger consensus, it could be worth several times more than it was with a purely linear algorithm. I may be in the minority, but I see this as a huge positive. The major failures of linearity should have been very clear to everyone over the past two years.

...giving the golden children more at the expense of the newbs is not optimal for retention, imo.

I’m not sure that’s actually the case. I’m seeing a lot of new/smaller users getting bigger boosts from support...without the “need” to buy votes. But even if that was not the case, I see no reason why new users ought to receive any specific amount of support just for being new.

People should be rewarded on social media for creating entertaining/engaging/informative and popular content and for being able to network/promote themselves. Whether you’re new or old, rich or poor...it shouldn’t matter.

I’m not saying new users shouldn’t be helped or supported, but I see no reason why there should be any concern about the number of rewards they get as a new user. As I’ve said many times in the past, rather than focusing on trying to distribute rewards to new users just for showing up, we should do a better job of managing expectations for social media “success.”