I think the frustration stems from the slogan "everybody gets paid to post". Really? "Everybody?" The slogan starts a expectation. I have been getting dimes here and there but when I started out I would get posts that earned nothing.
It's no reason to quit a day job for. Unfortunately someone did that.
Agree. You don't get paid to post tou get paid to invest time and energy into a long term involvement in creating content. Many 1 cent posts have turned more valuable the longer I stayed in and got more followers and upvotes especially from high reputation users. It will pay but only if you are putting out something someone else wants to hear and values hearing.