A lively debate, interesting.
Personally, I am an instructor, I have been for a few months. I did the FI rating as a back-up for the possibility that I would not land that elusive airline job. The funny thing is, I actually enjoy it alot, and I think I do a bloody good job (i.e. I put my all into it), my students certainly get value for money.
The issue has come where I have actually landed my 1st airline job after a few months (very fortunate), but the funny thing is I kinda don't want to leave the instructing world, I really really enjoy it, the only issue is the wages, what I get paid does not even cover my mortgage (by a long way), let alone leave me a lifestyle that is "marginal".
Next month I will be joining the airlines, but if the wages were good enough I may have chosen to have been a career instructor, progressing to CPL/IR instruction etc. But again the wages do not dictate that I can wait around long enough to have the relevant experience, this is a crying shame, I am 34 and was willing to instruct for life.
Now as far as the topic goes about PPLs instructing, I can only say that I don't really agree that it is a path we should go down. The problem is though is that it is a catch 22 situ. Right now there is such a shortage of instructors that the standards have to be lowering, but on the other hand there is a shortage because the wages are so poor the schools are not magnets for the career instructor, the advent of the PPL instructor will erode the wages even further. I also agree that you will only attract the PPLs with little or no experience thus again lowering the standards somewhat, and yes the low houred fATPL only has 200 odd hrs as well, but I do feel having been through the system that the knowledge gained during my ATPLs has helped me answer the most testing questions from the students, (in no way am I saying I have superior knowledge) the reason I could do this is because instructing has re-enforced my knowledge because I have had to learn the relevant subjects inside out.
Can the PPL instructor offer this objectiveness? I am not sure.
Also I am no Red Barron or Chuck Yeager, but the worst pilots I have had through the school are the ones who have had their PPLs a while and are doing their bi-annual instructoral flight. The standard I have seen is quite frankly nothing short of shocking.