I'm not sure the money would be spend better on advertisement.
The way the money is distributed may not be ideal but it's the only way we are rewarding content without charging for its usage.
Also it increases quality and solves click-bait content rubish
I'm not saying it is or is not ideal. I think the optimal value is too ephemeral to quantify and attain in a network this young just yet. The both of you are making some great points to this discussion.
I'm merely echoing the sentiment others have stated, that being, they feel the way content is 'valued' is skewed towards what's hyped and what's hot. The number side of it might check out quite differently.
aggred