I know everyone and their mother has given their opinion on the watcher situation, but as someone who is critical of this decision, I want to make it clear: no one is saying that they don't deserve to be paid a living wage. what people ARE saying is that there had to be a better way to do this.
if they truly needed money they could have:
promoted their patreon more
do a hybrid model where less "advertiser friendly" shows could be behind a paywall
release recordings of their live shows for money
advertised perks for joining youtube premium
be open and honest about needing money and asking for donations via gofundme or kickstarter or however they chose
there are people willing to spend money on them. The amount of patrons, the number of people who buy merch, and those who pay to go to live shows, should prove that. those who say otherwise are misunderstanding the situation, or maybe even purposefully misrepresenting it
the most infuriating thing about personal growth is that even if someone else did have the answer you needed and conveyed it to you in a precise and effective matter, it won't make sense until you're ready for it. you could hear it every day of your life and it wouldn't matter a fucking bit until it finally clicks. there's very little you can do to influence when that happens, either