I don’t know about micro but I keep a conventional amount of starter in the fridge and have had it for 5+ years. If I’m out of a bread phase I take it out once every few months, let it come to temperature and feed it. When it gets bubbly and happy again I give it more flour and water till it’s thick and stick it back in the fridge. When my next bread phase kicks in I leave it out of the fridge for a day, feed it again and then use it like normal (once I see it can double in size). Very little waste this way and super-low effort.

I’ve also dehydrated strips of extra-thick starter and have successfully reanimated them years later (just did it recently with 4+ year dehydrated starter in fact).

Yep, this is it. Show how “broken” it is by breaking it, and enough of the population won’t even notice when it’s “fixed” and they’re only getting 2/3 of what they were before (and are entitled to). Plus grift, etc.