Steem, Utility Token or Rewards?

Recently I started to do some more powering up, but I would like to know what I am investing in.

Is it too soon to select a path and communicate it?

Currently there is an Inflation Pool which is distributed by stakeholders using their vote. Each stakeholder can allocate rewards based on the amount of SteemPower they hold to those things they think add value. Whether it is posts or projects or the burn posts.

Yesterday I was listening to @exyle and @yabapmatt talk about the value of Steem and ponder what the best use-case is for the Steem token. They are both influencers and even they are not sure what the value of Steem is. Today @pharasim's post also mentioned eliminating Steem rewards as a potential path forward. @Aggroed and @Justineh also had a brief discussion about this on their Sunday Night Town Hall Show.

Keep in mind, I can see pros and cons to either model and I am not opposed to adapting to market conditions, but it is hard to go in blind not knowing what is going to happen next.

Here is my dilima on one hand if SMTs are the only rewards going forward, I don't want to power up a lot of Steem. I'd rather focus on the Tribes which may become SMTs. Until I see how the SMTs combined with communities are implemented.

On the other hand if we are going to continue to allow stakeholders to allocate rewards to those things they think hold value and the SMTs are going to additional rewards, I'd rather invest in Steem.

There is a lot of talk about making Steem a utility token and reducing or ending Steem inflation, if that happens I don't want my assets to be stuck in Steem Power.

It's difficult to invest if I don't know what I am investing in.

To be clear, I think either model has value and can be marketed, but it is hard to decide to invest until there is some consensus on where we are headed among those who are controlling where we go next.

I can imagine these same questions would impact those who want to develop games or apps, they would design their product with the financial incentives that are in place.

This is not meant to be critical about either plan, but I wonder if we could escalate the discussion with the large stakeholders and resolve it so we know how to move forward?

Alright community, what do you think... Is the Steem token trying to do too many things at once?

What are your thoughts? Should we try to pick a path or leave all options open?

Let's talk about it in the comment section.

@whatsup