I subscribe to the Times for its news content. No way I was going to pay an additional $6 a month for more opinions. Frankly, the NYT's opinion page already borders on propaganda.
Yeah, the opinion section is the worst part of NYT, though I'm sure it's a driver of much of the traffic, at least judging from the "most read" and "most emailed" sidebars. I suspect that the by turns vague and inflammatory headlines are great as clickbait, but not something people actively seek out. And anyway, it's not like David Brooks (ever?) has anything interesting to say.
Yes. That is ridiculous. $6 for opinion? I have opinions and I'll provide them for free. Their opinion section isn't even that good. I could read White House press releases and come away with more insight.