A post can get all the "shares" in the world from someone getting payed .08 cents per "share" but if nobody follows that person, that's a waste of money. A post can have a full hub wheel from 20 dummy accounts and still, the only people that will see it will be the 20 dummies.

I think you mostly nailed it. The way hubski is designed makes it difficult to for spammers to gain quick and easy popularity since they must gain not only share but also non-bought followers -- the latter of which is a slow and more deeply involved process than simply clicking a button. People being paid 8¢ an hour (or per follower, or whatever) won't bother with that.

However, a poster that no one follows can still be visible through the "external posts" feature, which I personally keep on "show many." And while it is possible to ignore users on an individual level, the post will still be visible by anyone not blocking that particular user -- which, when you account for lurkers and new folk, is probably the majority of people who see the site (if not now, then in the future). I think it is at that point, or ideally before that point, that we will start to seriously discuss the issue of moderation.