The risk adjusted return on whatever that crazy contraption is is almost certainly negative, and probably incalculably so.
The idea that any sane financial instrument could increase its return by two points by the holders of it voting to do so is... I haven't the words.
Raising the savings rate will also raise the interest rate that those holding loans must pay. If a loan holder doesn't agree with the new interest rate, they are free to close out their loan.
It's true that the interest rate can be arbitrarily voted up. Despite this, 1.46% of all existing Ether (currently valued at $210,036,816) is staked as collateral in the system, so it's not accurate to say nobody would do this.
Isn't this just a revolving credit line?
In another way, you're totally missing the point.
Net ROI hasn't been great for people who were earning x% interest on their ETH while it tanked 50%+.
But the _idea_ the animates DAI, the dream of a decentralized synthetic digital bearer asset, that's a worthwhile dream imo. It's not a simple idea to understand. And it's not simple to implement technically/socially. But DAI has been a beautiful experiment in attempting to create this new-fangled thing. and while the jury is still out on whether the model/architecture they've chosen will hold up, the experiment itself should, in my view, be declared a massive success - it has, for the most part, worked very well. And DAI opens the door to new experiments. And they'll come. A trickle at first. but in 10yrs, it'll be an entirely different landscape when it comes to complex financial instruments. They'll be available in the way stocks can be had on Robinhood. and more. bcs financial instruments that are currently too complex or expensive to be practical, will be within reach. The rabbit hole is deep. and it is real. You can dive in and start learning. Or yell at clouds until your boat gets lifted by a wave of innovation...
The people who built "that crazy contraption" are pioneers in an industry that is going to help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty via cheap, non-predatory financial services and create trillions in wealth by further unifying the global market.
I am somebody who spends hundreds of hours per year reading about Ethereum and blockchain. I could stop doing this whenever I want, I'm not bound by my employer or anything.
I keep at it because the underlying technology and things being built with it are amazing and valuable.
If you take one thing away from this thread, let it be that Bitcoin is the "Ask Jeeves" of cryptocurrency and the future is actively being built on Ethereum.
