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It shows that it's not about the money therefore strengthening the message. Kind of an ideological stand point.

where does the money go though

I just tested it by liking that post. The amount on that post got higher, but I think my steem balances stayed the same.

(I could be wrong though, I am using slow mobile internet, and I just started using steem yesterday so its all new to me.)

From this post: https://steemit.com/steemit/@steemquestions/declined-payout-what-happens-to-the-steem

it remains part of the rewards pool. So it increases payouts for everyone else.