Gentlemen:
As an underpaid widebody southamerican captain I don't see what's the point in questioning high salaries in the US, first the big airlines management are extremely able people in their fields, so I can assume that they agree to pay those salaries because they CAN, otherwise they'd go into some other line of bussiness. Second they get paid more in the US for the same reason that a doctor or a lawyer gets more than their couterparts elsewhere. Third, I must add that I have a very healthy envy for my US colleages, someone has to keep top wages high so the people earning less for the same Job can aspire to better standards. As pilots we ought not to critizise our colleages for earning too much, but to endeavor to improve our wages based in what they make.