I think certain areas should be monitored more often like "For Beginners" section and places noobs feel more comfortable talking.. but most merits are given out in Bitcoin related technical topics that the people who need the most merit are least likely to participate in.
It's almost worth giving a merit for that comment, except that I suspect it is intended to be a complaint, and not a vindication of the merit system.
I had to check to see if this forum was still called "Bitcoin Talk", and it looks as if it is. I think it's great that merit is being awarded for posts that help people understand and use Bitcoin. Maybe the polluters, who it seems are the ones chasing merit, should take time to learn about Bitcoin, and then they could use this knowlege to earn money elsewhere. if they aren't capable of doing it here.