Turbine,
I think you are looking at it from the wrong angle. I understand in the commercial world the IMC is a mickey mouse ticket...but is it really?
1) Obtaining the IMC rating means the pilots skill needs to improve quiet substantially to the basic PPL pilots.
2) By the time the IMC rated pilots get their IR (if they are going commercial) they will have had more IMC/IFR experience than the average 55 fresh houred CPL/IR/ATPL. Which means more instrument approaches and procedures.
So I think the angle is not to look at the worth of the IMC but the experience it will provide the pilot. And as I mentioned I think the 15 hours it takes to get the IMC are more valuable hours in terms of quality than 30 hours cheap as chips package hours.