Is use of bid-bots unethical? If yes, why this platform allows bid-bots to work?

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This is a great question in my opinion, and there are some good arguments on both sides, but in my personal analysis, I've decided that I think bid bots are bad for the Steem economy. I will explain why. 

Bid bots/fixed rate bots provide a service that many find valuable, "visibility boosting".  The way Steemit is set up, you need upvotes, to get ranked in trending and hot, and this generally brings quite a bit of attention to your blog. This is a win for anyone who is willing to pay for the visibility, but is it really?

What turns me off the most about bots, is the fixed rate that is set with the majority of them.  10 percent ROI doesn't add a great deal of room for growth. It also ensures that the bot owners get the absolute max value out of their system, all while ensuring the minnow stays small!

Imagine a bid bot that returns 100 percent profit after curation.. How long would you need to use the service before you could self upvote a substantial amount, and cut out the loss of profit? I assure you if the ROI was 100 percent, it wouldn't take very long for small guys to start whaling up. (The self upvote is another interesting debate IMO.)

I used to use bid bots for every post. What I came to realize, is it's more trouble than it's worth, you don't make the gains you think you will make, you will likely need to power down to continue botting because of how you are paid, and when the true conceptualization of what is really going on starts to sink in, you will be left feeling dirty, and like less of an asset to the community because of utilizing a system that is not good for Steemit. 

There is more to consider than just bid bots. You have the self upvote, (which some frown on), you have the famous Steemit circle jerk, (another debatable practice),  you have vote trading (which is pretty much in line with circle jerking), and there is even a debate regarding automation of votes, (which I personally am not against). To me these debates are all important , for various reasons within the Steem economy, but the bid bot discussion, may be one of the more important topics. 

I don't blame the bot owners, and I think it would be foolish to do so. The bot owners are running a service/business to make money, and they shouldn't be frowned upon for doing so, in my humble opinion. The one's to blame are us, the one's who have used the bots, and the one's who continue to use the bots.  If everyone stopped using them, the problem would be solved.

After a bit of discussion, (and the fact that I already receive pretty amazing support), I made a personal decision to no longer use the bots.  Do I think this will slow down my growth? Maybe a little, but I feel better about myself knowing I am now contributing to the Steem blockchain in a fashion that is more conducive for positive, more natural organic growth, rather than in a way that keeps the wealth gap larger, in a corrupt way, driven by greed. 

I hope my answer helps, good question! :)