do mod get paid? who pays to mods and how much they earn?
All staff get paid, but how much is something you should not worry yourself about. But why all this question? Do you want to be a moderator? I see all this survey you are doing is unnecessary, and I doubt any moderator will come here and give you an answer to those questions.
The forum admin Theymos selects moderators based on boards he knows they are best suited for. I don't know how it's done, but for the local boards, I think the moderator must be from the local area in order for them to understand what's going on there and know what they are moderating.