but i think it will turn moderating as a means of income

Only if they are paid enough to make it an income.

If they are paid, for example, an annual stipend which reflects their work but isn’t enough to make it a daily job, that would be a huge step in the right direction. You could even make it depend on the size of the subreddit since bigger ones take a lot more work than smaller ones… but never enough to actually live on.

I think a lot of moderators would be very happy to get a couple of thousand dollars a year for their work.