If people wanna agitate for airlines to alter the practice of overbooking flights, then people are gonna have to accept that they will be responsible for the higher fares that will surely result.
What amazes me is that the airlines just don't accept that the "big payday" is still waaaay less expensive than bad publicity - especially if that publicity results in the government getting involved. You had to pay someone $20K to get off a flight? Its small potatoes compare the government mandating, regulating or monitoring your processes. Just filing the regulatory paperwork will ad 20K easy.
I am a bad traveller. I don't even like to travel on vacation. I used to do it for work, and I was 100% focused on getting my job done and getting home. And I would be on overbooked flights all of the time. And the sums they offered for my seat were laughable.. and could only tempt some poor barista or student. I suspect you could start getting people to voluntarily give up their seats for $1000 cash + whatever accommodations were required. I doubt it would seldom go above $5000 .. Say everyone knew that the airline's top price was $50k. Does anyone really think a plane full of people will all wait for that number to come up? Especially if getting 50K approval requires a 45 minute wait on the tarmac while approvals are sought?
Someone sitting there thinks, okay - we aren't leaving till someone raises their hand. I could wait and hope I am the guy they pick when they go from 5000 to 10,000 or I can take the 5000 now. No one wants to play the lottery when they reach $50K and everyone raises their hand. At some point - a point far below any known maximum, someone feels they are obtaining adequate compensation for waiting for another flight or spending another night in a hotel. Hell, paying for a first class ticket on another airline leaving in 60 minutes, will be enough..
Overbooking is the airlines decision, but you are basically playing an actuarial game. When the number comes up, insurances pays out.. it should be te same deal with the airline. Too many people show up - you owe them and should buy their seat back. Failing to do so.. dumb.