I do think the problem here is people's lack of willingness to invest in Steem rather than any problem with the system. At the moment anybody can put $50 into Steem, that's literally pocket change, and as the statistics stand, that already puts them into a higher bracket of users than the majority, who have nothing. With just 50 SP you can see your voting power have a real effect, especially if fully utilised daily and the rewards powered up. But most people don't do that. Even if the Steem price goes up the proportions won't change. It will still take the same amount of money to buy a proportional level of voting power.

Thank you for your detailed analysis though, it's very interesting and much appreciated!