I believe the system is just perfect the way it is; the merit system was not created to favor anyone, but anyone who drops posts that are quality enough to receive merit will definitely get that as a reward. And with you making 24 posts since your registration and no merit yet, it should at least teach you something, which is that you should work a little on your post quality, and you will definitely get those merits you are searching for.
 
I will advise you to just devote your time to building yourself and learning properly from the forum, and in due time, before you realize it, you will notice that merit will start flowing on your posts and comments without you even requesting it. Everyone has different ways of judging post quality and if they meet their requirements for it to be merited.

But having this kind of mindset that merit is low only with the higher-ranking members might kill your desire to even push further, and posts like this one might likely put you on many users ignore lists, reducing your chances of getting merit when you make quality posts.