My non-too-subtle post was simply intended to provoke some intelligent discussion - which it indeed succeeded in doing. Thanks for your valuable insights
Behind my "poke" was the the notion that no form of regulation (in any industry) will ever be perfect, but a hugely important factor (more so than any given structure IMHO) is the integrity and moral courage of those that work within regulatory and compliance activities (I happen to be one such - not aviation though - but this post in not intended to be an exercise in who has the moral high ground).
Bottom line, you can fiddle with any regulatory regime as much as you like, but if you have the wrong people in it, it won't matter a damn. Conversely the right people will make a decent fist of any given situation.
Which is pretty much what "Engines" said (and much better than me) in the second half of his excellent post.
JMO