Bitcoin only has itself to blame for not being a method of payment, but the value runs higher if Bitcoin remains an investment asset class. A currency can't have wild swings. A currency needs to stabilize and then have only modest gains year over year. People won't spend something today that they believe will be worth more tomorrow.
What's wrong with this? When the dumb cash out the smart come in from the sidelines and bid the price back up. The best thing Bitcoin has going for it is that its value won't erode over time due to inflation in the money supply...that reason alone is enough to make Bitcoin an excellent alternative for savings.
Bitcoin is doomed to be used as a speculative asset, I am afraid. And with the current fees it could anyway not be used for small payments any more. Other currencies may eventually take it's place for actual payments, which Bitcoin will be stored like gold, for not being used.
That's true at the moment, and it looks like it will continue to be in the near future. It's not by design though, but rather by limitations. Under normal network conditions, Bitcoin shouldn't have any problems with small payments, or really any other kind of transaction. It's going to stay an investment until then, and it's not even necessarily the best in that aspect with other alts posting much better growth.
That being said, once the Lightning Network is implemented, Bitcoin could reverse all that in a hurry. That can't come any sooner.