You meant to say that people who give merit look on the reputation and trust of the person and give less look at the post itself.
I do not think that's the case. Trust and merit are separate entities.
Obviously it's all about the post itself but if it's a total noob then I might be inclined to have a look at their other writings. If all of their other posts are nothing but yards of that Facebook/Twitter bounty shit then I may well be less inclined to make it rain.
One thing I definitely wouldn't do is randomly merit someone just because of who they are. There are plenty of longstanding members who don't write much of note.