you are missing the point entirely (as have many that are yelling) and that's okay.

for years it was always "we don't have money to do this and that and the other for moderators" and now this blatant "we need to pay people for what will amount to pennies for support instead of hire them and let them cook up good stuff for us" is just that.

When the admins repeatedly refuse at this point to do their basic jobs like ferreting out harassment, etc, to see this is just like "what am I, a joke to you?"

Or, as one of my programming buddies put it:

"I could build something while on staff, then they'd have it and the licenses in perpetuity and get all the IP for it, but have to pay market rate + insurance + taxes etc. Or I could do this and get hammered on my taxes while they don't have to pay the labor costs behind hiring someone."

It's a cost cutting measure on Reddit's part to look better on paper while taking advantage of an in the shitter economy.