Benefits of having "trusted / high quality" user recognition

I think it's a good idea if you can de-politicize it. Be mindful of factions trying to bolster their point of view, and slam the points of view of others. The more we can quantify the better. For example, if someone has three FA's under their belt, then they clearly understand the processes and standards of quality that Wikipedia is looking for. That would get us halfway there, at least. The other half of being "trusted" on quality would be making sure they have a good track record of civility (not an jerk) and consensus building (not a partisan hack), which is harder to measure.