Money isn't the issue, but it's just like the government bailouts, taking money from everybody, and giving it to the people who proven they don't know how to use it. Higher prize funds won't solve the PBA problems, the PBA problems only mirror the much greater decline in league bowling. Only a select few people will care about the increased prize fun, not the everyday fan watching bowling on TV. Higher prize funds won't attract more viewers, or get more people into bowling. It's not like poker, where you can go, learn and play on-line for free, try cheap on-line tournaments, and have success very quickly. With bowling, there is no hiding or bluffing, you need to spend years developing your skills.
The only way for the PBA to thrive is the restoration of league bowling to prior states. Giving money to the PBA is like putting a bandaid on a severed limb. There is no magical quick answer. The only real answer is long term targeted efforts to establish school bowling programs to create youth bowlers.