While there is no perfect judging system, I do think falls should be penalized differently than they are.
At my level (single and double jumps), falling on a jump essentially means you have negative points for that element. Between lost points in GOE and the 1 point deduction, you'd be better off not trying the jump at all. A very severe penalty - I'd rather see the jump be worth 0.
However, at the elite level, a 1 point deduction per fall, when scores are over 100 points, seems like it's not severe enough.
The REAL incentive for the quad, IMO, is the HUGE increase in base value that it gives you. Because competitors are limited to repeating only 2 triple jumps in the program, adding a quad, even one that you fall on, raises that BV significantly. If a program without a quad repeats the axel and lutz, that means you can only do 1 flip, loop, salchow, and toeloop. Then you are filling in the rest of your jumping passes with double axels, which has a BV of 3.3 points.
A quad toe loop has a value of 10.3 points. Fall on it, loose 3 points in GOE plus 1 point for the fall, you are still at at 6.3 points. A bit less than a 3A (8.5), but more then any other triple. It's a no brainer.
I'd like fall deductions to be proportional to the value of the jump, I'm at a loss of how much though. Or, maybe, there should be an automatic deduction in PCS due to falls instead? They do really disrupt the flow of a program.