There's a little "sneaky" in there. The US system is funded by the tax on the fuel. Timothy (and I) use Avgas which is taxed like the clappers. NONE of that tax goes towards aviation.
The airlines, who whinge about the cost of LARS, use virtually tax-free fuel.
Hypothecation is, I understand, a word that Gordon Brown does not recognise.
Yes, bring in the US system, and I'll be happy.
Adopt the FAA IR and you can delete the IMC rating, as far as I'm concerned. But NOT while the local PPL/IR requires the level of irrelevant academic effort it does right now.
But I take Timothy's original point, which seems to have got lost in the last 4 pages or so. But it's easy for me - my aeroplane weighs less than the magic number (even with me in it).