- Are merits actually being circulated between those who really need it?
Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter if the person needs it. What's matter if the person deserves it.
- Are they also helping out others through their sMerits?
There's a different sort of thinking I've come across - most people don't use their merits by not sharing them with those who deserve them.
There are probably a good number of people here who are not sending out their merits, but I don't think there's anything we can do. If their standards are just really high? Yea, nothing we can do. Content deservedness(for a lack of a better word), is hugely subjective. I personally intentionally lower my judgement slightly with people with lower ranks.
As for people who don't give out merit just to decrease the competition in signature campaigns though? I think that's quite farfetched. If there were people like that, they're probably a huge minority.