Hopefully when the price of Steem rises a payout of 40 bucks will be average.

Yes I certainly agree and that is why I am commenting at all on posts which make, say, $50. When the price of Steem hopefully rises and $50 is a "small" reward, I won't take note of it. A post that earns $50 now would probably earn over $2000 with the exact same voting back in July. It isn't the specific amount that matters, it is the nature of the voting and how it relates to the overall pool.