Why do I suspect that, even if one were to spend 8 hours a day on Reddit, making comments that all were gilded, you'd still earn less than minimum wage?
There definitely were personalities on Reddit, like poem_for_your_sprog, who gained a following. I could see sprog making appreciable money with the proposed system.
I'm still on Facebook because of that's how I keep up with friends I no longer live near, but you know what Facebook has been loath to show me recently? Posts from my friends. Easily 75% of my feed is sponsored or "recommended" content. If they're not going to show me the one and only thing I come to the site to see, I might as well not come to the site.
Reddit's Contributor Program could earn you real money for your Reddit karma (www.androidauthority.com)
Reddit could be working on a Contributor program, letting top contributors earn real-world money from the gold and karma they receive.