Is there any practical reason why bitcoin couldn't be patched so miners can set their own blockreward?
Of course. The absolute rejection of the users of any chain containing blocks that deviate from the established reward schedule.
Is there any practical reason why bitcoin couldn't be patched so miners can set their own blocksize?
Of course. The absolute rejection by the users of any chain containing blocks the deviate from the established size parameters.
I wasn't really looking for an answer. My version was rhetorical. I think you understood that, though.
Firstly, node operation does not require SSD latencies. HDD speeds are fine. So 25 bux. Yet... so what? Less than 0.2 BTC? Waaaaaah. Buck up buttercup - those that refuse to invest shall be rightfully cast aside. And good riddance to you too. It would be one thing if you even tried... but... I guess you're just too. damned. insignificant.
Storage isn't the real concern. It's RAM (in the short term) and bandwidth (in the slightly longer run).