I disagree that $500 is too much for the top tier. Many of us who are in it are full-time writers and were earning FT incomes on Medium before all the changes. We’ve worked for years to hone our craft and build the audience we have, and we saw a significant income reduction — far more than the $500 bonus now being offered. FT writers didn’t have unemployment to fall back on in the last year. I appreciate that Medium is showing loyalty to the writers who have been consistently producing work and generating reads over the years. I do miss the old pay scale where more people could earn, but even then, it wasn’t easy money.