Beer money? Where the hell are you guys drinking? I have been a writer for TextBroker for two and a half years. I currently average $500 while writing for less than 30 hours per week. Sometimes the work for open orders can be lacking, but I have developed regular daily clients and belong to six extremely active teams - so it doesn't matter how much work is available in the open queue.
If you're not serious about being a freelance writing on the site, you won't make much money. I have long since quit my regular job as I make far more now on TextBroker than I did before. If I had a problem with a client, the TextBroker agents responded to me in less than an hour.
I do agree that the editorial staff isn't consistent with reviews, but that's what happens when you have several people reviewing work each with different knowledge and understanding of grammar. As long as you're consistent in your abilities and can write AP style without difficulty, then you don't have much to worry about.