I agree with you, when you monitize something, people will find a way to take advantage of it if they can. At this point, I have taken to using upvote bots myself when my posts reach day 5. I figure at that point, anyone who was going to see it and upvote has already done so. At that point, I am trying to increase my own investment. Unless you have a bunch of SP (which I don't), there is not a lot you can do to influence the community unless you are a developer.
RE: Why Do We Bother To Create Content At All? Better To Abuse.