Because a very few older experienced training captains at the top of the scale do well, the media get the impression that all pilots are extremely well paid, and thus the airline management are encouraged. You ask Joe Public, and he'll tell you that a BA captain is on £200K a year.
If the media published the fact that a lot of the people actually doing the flying had salaries that wouldn't keep the average 'penny-a-word' hack in beer, the concept that pay may not be such an area to cut might rub off on the suits.