There are a number of flaws in your post.

We aren't all members of sig campaigns, and there is no incentive for me to hold back with my sMerit.

Abusers of the merit system could be fined with negative merit ( say -50) that would be a disincentive to sell merit ( should be a banning offence imho ), ot to abuse the system.

Some of us try to ( and have ) awarded our sMerit to post in the beginners forum.

Gatekeeping is the main purpose of the merit system. Without making good posts, the gate to higher ranks should be kept closed.

Spamming could be reduced if new members had to make their first posts on an introductory board, and tell us a bit about themselves.