It does not ease the work.
It transfers the work from a decentralized system (the readers who investigate) to a centralized one.
But, is not centralized yet? I mean: only a few members can ban an account. And, also, this is not centralized, since it works the same way than the "report to moderator" button in a topic. Mods have the last word in this case.
Also, the actual way is to make a big thread (difficult to follow and read) in which the possible merit abuse is shown, that's why I consider it to "ease" the way.
But, again, this is just an idea. I don't need to be right, just to create a debate and to seek the best way of stopping the farmers.
Anyway, the merit starvation maybe will be enough for now.