The mining reward is not supposed to be the end state of the system. It is a subsidy, reducing over time, to get the system established. Once established, th

The mining reward is not supposed to be the end state of the system. It is a subsidy, reducing over time, to get the system established. Once established, the idea is that transaction fees are used and the distributed nature of the network causes a natural competition to be the most efficient so miners can charge the lowest fees while making a profit.