The problem is that funding so far proved to not generate value. As the charts show despite all the spending we have done we are not more valuable than Steem without development.

Try to follow the reasoning:

1. we spend and they do not
2. we are worth roughly the same

So either funding does not bring value and the extra inflation will dilute everyone and devalue the token or funding brings value but because we are worth the same then our chain has some inherently wrong that is mitigated by investment.

Which is it? Does investment bring value and our chain is less valuable but balanced by funding? Is our chain not less valuable and funding does not bring value?

Either way we are in a bad position.

I believe our chain has better value and is worth more but the funding has caused reputational and financial damage to the chain. In the past I did buy into the idea that funding was helping, approved a few proposals and thought they would bring users and value, they did not. Our cost to acquire a single user is in the hundreds or thousands and we still have proposals that benefit individuals but do not bring value to token holders (such as paying for AI subs)