[chrismcb]

You make several assumptions. "We could pay X..." but we don't. How is it a complete societal waste? When someone purchases ad time they are essentially paying for your content. They do this in hopes of selling more product. It is essentially a win/win. You get a free product, and they get more sales. From a financial perspective the marketers aren't going to sell their product for less because they don't advertise. They are spending some money to make more money. So it makes sense for them to spend the money. As far as "we could pay X for the content..." Well that is essentially what we do today, we just do it through ads. Does it contribute to a "cycle of poverty" Not really. That kid will want those fancy new shoes whether he sees it in an ad, or sees it on his friends feet. And yeah, he is helping pay for your YouTube habit. But then so are you. Even if you don't watch ads, you are still purchasing the products that generate the ads.