That’s not quite correct. YouTube pays out creators who monetize their channels using YouTube ads (separate from any sponsors in the video itself). The amount paid out varies but is around $3-5 per 1000 views.
With YouTube Premium, among other features you get to avoid seeing ads. But Google still pays out creators a share of the YouTube Premium fee. See https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6306276
One factor that wasn't mentioned here (probably because people don't really mention it publicly) that I've anecdotally heard of from a number of people in tech who've made the SF->NYC move is the better gender and career diversity there. For men this can equate to a better dating lifestyle, and just in general some want to be surrounded by people besides tech bros.
Regarding politics, I wonder if another way to interpret this is people who find San Francisco too liberal (or unsupportive of Trump) and want to move somewhere more representative of how a majority of the country (however you define that) thinks.
https://repodev.com/blog/how-to-switch-from-vundle-to-vim-pl...