Will never be the same.

Is that really an option? Getting that many people to agree to anything is usually very difficult. This case is especially difficult, as any problem is likely to be very gradual. By the time it gets bad enough to get enough support for a rule change, it may be too late. While it's good that a technical solution is possible, leaving it to the network to reach a consensus may not be practical.

Physical currency can be destroyed. A central authority is typically responsible for creating new currency to offset this loss.
However, no more than 21 million bitcoins can ever be created. If I were make my bitcoins unrecoverable, they would be lost not just to me, but to the system forever. Granted, the loss is small, but it is cumulative. The effects can only increase as bitcoin becomes more widely used. In my mind, the conclusion seems to be unstoppable deflation as bitcoins become increasingly scarce.

Is this a problem? What might solve it?

If you have a taskbar, you might try moving it to the left or right edge of the screen (rather than the top or bottom) to conserve a little vertical space. It takes some getting used to, though.