One thing I've suggested is to route all the inflation (except maybe some or all of witness rewards, which are needed for operational security) through DHF. Stakeholders could then vote a desired amount into a better-defined content fund (or multiple funds), to the extent that this is seen as a useful expense for marketing, airdrop, etc. It could also go to subsidize second layer communities/platforms, to the extent they are seen as helping to promote or grow Hive (some of the existing DHF proposals are close to this).
No one seems to see this as a big priority with limited development resources (and I don't disagree necessarily), to the extent it is even agreed with at all as a concept (likely mixed).
RE: The main excuse for malicious down-voting is "Over-Rewarded Content..." What about the account making $10k+ PER DAY in spam comments?