As I said in another comment, just because something is positive sum doesn't mean it's necessarily fair or can't be improved.

I'd be over the moon with this new change if the 50 percent of my subscription fee that would now go to referrals could also be transferred to other writers (maybe only after a few months so that the writer who refered me is rewarded for a time). But I think it's unfair if as a reader half of my subscription fee permanently goes to just one writer I might not even like anymore.

As a reader, I want to have some say over who gets half my subscription fee. I want it to go to the writers I love now, not to a random writer whose referral link I stumbled upon years ago on twitter or wherever.