Steem is already being given for free, not sure what you are talking about.
No, its being given away in exchange for work. Just because you don't pay for something with money doesn't mean you don't pay.
You want to take the work out of the equation, because some are doing a bad job of it, and just pay people for doing nothing.
Yes its work. Its just not good or difficult work (and its not work that should be rewarded). The solution is to reward the work that is actually valuable, not to not offer rewards for the (important) function and depend upon people to do it for free out of the goodness of their hearts.
I'm sorry but running a bot is not work and doesn't bring any value to the platform.
Authoring is work and provides value.