Aren’t you ‘in charge’ of quite a lot yourself?
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And I blame that entirely on stupidity. When asked if I was willing to do the job and join the Directorate, I was stupid enough to say ‘yes’. 
(And yes, I was waiting for that question to eventually come up.)
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I cannot presume to know the mind of Lord Arim Ardishapur. All I know is that there is nothing untoward in seeking power for, and advancing the interests of the House. For under the system of patronage, doing so means everyone under the House benefits.
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This an incredibly naive claim to make. No, increasing the power of the House doesn’t mean everyone under the House benefits. If Khanid’s fortunes continue to wax, does that automatically mean the scant few people alive on the Fabai constellation’s colonies benefit? Of course not. Khanid is perfectly free to continue to ignore the well-being of those people as he’s long ignored the well-being of commoners whenever they’ve become inconvenient.
When power is systemically concentrated in the hands of those at the top without recourse or accountability to the masses, corruption will inevitably grow at accelerating rates. It’s why, even in systems expressly designed to serve the needs of the people, you see those in power working tirelessly to expand their own authority, limit oversight, and stifle dissent with threats, belittling, and intimidation.
I cannot comment on the nature of House Khanid, my own personal experiences with patronage only exist within the demesnes of Ardishapur.
The specific House doesn’t matter. No, the House’s fortunes improving does not translate to an improvement for everyone in their train. It only translates to an improvement for the people the House makes an effort to give benefits to.
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Well, benefits should only be commensurate to the amount of individual contribution and service to the House.
But are not necessarily. They are, in fact, entirely at the whim of the liege, who may favor a useless fool and neglect an industrious servant. So long as they maintain the loyalty of enough of their minions—whether by genuine dedication or simply being strong enough and cruel enough to cow many of them into compliance—they can afford to be petty and spiteful to others who have done nothing to earn it.
Yes, Holders maintain a great deal of arbitrary powers.
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