So Aircraft you think that SAFER to have items that once upon a time had to be repaired or you don't go; can now be u/s for a 15 hour flight over the pacific?
I am not arguing that it shouldn't be done, I am just arguing that as soon as you cut costs it IS becoming more unsafe.
The safest option is to have no MEL and as soon as something goes u/s it is repaired, however it is considered as acceptable risk to fly around with certain things broken. Whilst not necessarily dangerous it is not as safe as having the thing fixed in the first place.
Running an airline is a giant juggling act once you affect one thing that will then affect another. The art is to keep all the balls going around in the most cost effective manner.
Also the decrease in the cost of aviation that you allude to is through technological change in aircraft and reservation/internet technology is what really has pushed aviation along. What I am talking about is cutting costs by removing certain things that are deemed to be "acceptable risk".