[yiyus]

Actually, many journals require you to give up to five names of possible reviewers, so the authors are somewhat responsible of this task too. And it can be quite difficult if you are in a niche field and you have been there for a while, because you cannot suggest any colleague or anyone who has published with you, neither you want anyone with whom you may have a conflict of interests.

Anyway, most of the journals I know use unpaid editors, that do it because of prestige. That does not make the journal articles any cheaper.

[bibixii929]

Sure, authors can suggest reviewers, but the editor cannot always assume the list is reasonable. This is one of the things where a good editor with understanding of the field can in principle "add some value".