You need to get a reality check.
Regulators have nothing to do with employment law or remuneration packages. This is the same across all regulated industries.
Yes, airline pilots are higher skill. So is a librarian. So is a musician. So is a police officer. But a cadet is not as skilled an an examiner. A librarian assistant is not as skilled as senior librarian. A pianist is not as skilled as a maestro. A police constable is not as skilled as a detective. And guess which industry out of this 4 pays more in the long run. Yet a police officer is a way more riskier than a pilot, I can assure you of that.
In the end, is basic economics dynamics - offer vs. demand. This goes the same across all business. The difference is how each business decides to approach these opportunities: it's called business strategy.
There are people that work very hard to pay for their training and not take a huge debt. The people that rack thousands of debt nowadays are either the ones that were sold a dream, or the ones that were gifted with a financial advantage. The same hard working people are the ones that will pay for TR if that means they will land the job. They see it as opportunity. The gifted ones will pay and moan about it later, slagging their employer all the way, forgetting that nobody forced them, or not realising that paying for that rating was the door needed to be open for the rest of their career. At the end of the day, you will carry that rating with your licence. You can do it whatever you want with that. Including buying your own aircraft and fly it for fun.
You use a lot of words like virtually, technically, likely - that shows that you don't know the facts and think companies thrive by parting each others' back. In an ideal world, no one would work and everyone would have the same money. A week after, there would be rich and poor. Thinking of doing the right thing is all great on paper, but it might not work in reality. The same way what you think is the right thing for you, might not be the right thing for me.
Ask your junior lawyer friend what is their salary. Then ask them how many hours they work. The unofficial version. You'll be glad at least we have flight time limitations. And you'll quickly see who's actually working below minimum wage.
And don't even get started with the US vs Europe salaries. They are two complete worlds.