There isn't really a recipe for continued success in MLS. Seattle is the only team that has really figured it out and it's largely because they don't miss with their DPs and they continually develop young talent. The rules are in place to create artificial parity.
What if Seattle just stopped the whole DP thing, and just developed talent.... thats what RB is doing. On top of that, once RB develops a talent, they sell him immediately.
I feel like a crazy person. The roster is sub-par because they don't care about winning, only development. RBNY = FC Liefering in the hierarchy. It's appalling to me.
As far as artificial parity, this isnt the NFL where the worse team get the best players next year. This is just a cap that you can circumvent with DP slots. If you don't spend on DPs, then you won't win.