Higher ranked members got more merit points than newly registered accounts because they are somewhat established and were needed to kick off the system. Otherwise, it would only be sources distributing the points in the early days. Yeah a lot of the accounts that are higher ranked have reached that rank by spamming and only posting nonsense in activity periods just to rank up however, these accounts probably won't adjust to the new system well and will likely not gain much merit from now on.
For Members and above, it's really no biggie, since they get free merit. But for newbies like myself, getting to the next rank is exponentially higher because you really have to grind. Grinding isn't bad... but imo it's really unfair. Just a mini-rant.
I think it's unfair to allow people to rank up by spamming and posting in activity periods. This system might not be perfect, but it's already showing that it's effective against account farming and encouraging users to post more constructively.
Wait a few months until more sources are added and then evaluate and make consider making improvements on the system. As long as your making good on topic posts which contribute to the discussion or bring up important points for discussion then you'll get merit points. If you feel that your posts deserve more merit than they are getting you can post in one of the dozens of review threads.