I guess I would also answer that with controversial opinion.

They don't want a better platform. Reddit does exactly what they want it to do. To generate tons of discussions about the same things, over and over again. To generate loads of different feelings and situations. To create a very diverse pool of data.

They might have started out with a good ideology, but then success came.

I like to compare it with Quora. It could have been the best site of its kind. But it served its purpose, being a feed-bucket for an AI, and now it's not even moderated anymore. And they did pay their users and mods, but it didn't work out, too many tiny transactions, only like a handful of people got anything, and those abused it like crazy.

Just my take on it. Such payment models won't work. A few giants will earn the majority, and they will cheat and fight for it, the rest will still get nothing. They could have taken three thirds of that CEO money to create a few resident jobs. But why bother, Reddit is exactly how they want it to be. Most users just don't realize the pseudo-scam, believing it's their favorite discussion platform that they can influence, while the creators have a content-generator with free labor in mind.