This economic paradox is "fun" on so many different levels...
1. Is SP even real? If it isn't, then there's no paradox. And you can't resolve a paradox that doesn't exist.
1a. How is smartness being defined?
1b. Is it even true that smarter people have more money to spend? Kinda maybe? The huge debate/concern regarding increasing income inequality seems somewhat relevant.
1c. Is it even true that the vast majority of shows/movies on Netflix are dumber rather than smarter? Personally, I consider The Man From Earth, which I saw on Netflix, to be a good example of a smarter movie. It was full of history, science, philosophy and thoughtful discussion on religion. From my perspective... it was the best (that I know of) mix of entertainment and education. And it seems like there's a real shortage of shows/movies in this category. If you know of any others... then please don't hesitate to mention them! Given enough eyeballs, all Easter Eggs are shallow.
2. If SP is real, more or less, then how would you explain/resolve it?
2a. Perhaps smarter people demand far less entertainment than dumber people do? The opportunity cost of spending 2 hours watching a movie is far higher for a brain surgeon than it is for somebody who earns the minimum wage.
2b. Perhaps smarter people prefer dumber entertainment? If you get paid to use your brain all day, then maybe you prefer your entertainment to be mindless rather than mindful.
2c. Perhaps smarter people prefer nonfiction to fiction?
2d. "I'm not saying that television is vulgar and dumb because the people who compose the Audience are vulgar and dumb. Television is the way it is simply because people tend to be extremely similar in their vulgar and prurient and dumb interests and wildly different in their refined and aesthetic and noble interests." - David Foster Wallace
3. Assuming that the supply of smarter entertainment does indeed fall considerably short of demand... and assuming that this is a problem... then how could this problem be solved?
I think I might have resolved SP and come up with the logical explanation/solution (verdict)... but if I share it... then maybe it will influence your own verdict? Of course I'd like to hear your thoughts on my verdict... but I'd also like to know what you come up with on your own. It's entirely possible that yours will be better than mine! This means that I'd prefer it if you allocated (at least initially) your intelligence to coming up with your own verdict.
So I'll use the spoiler feature to hide my verdict. This way, if you're so inclined, you can post your own verdict and then come back and see how it compares to mine. You might have to ignore the replies at first as well... just in case anybody addresses my verdict.