A user who spends 100 USD and powers up is still an investor, do you think most people would risk personal funds to power up for a long period? I am of the view that Steem would be less daunting and user friendly if the lockup period was shorter and thus less objectionable. This sets a good base for Steem for when it does become more popular, I am under no illusion that the price of Steem will rise instantly because of this, however it helps mold Steem to a more mature and robust economy, remember we compete with EOS that has a 3 day lockup period only. SMT's will be competing with other chains like NEO etc, so has to be attractive for SMT projects to join with reasonable lockup periods.