eagle21,
I've done both roles too in the airline context....
The CAA mandate minimum crew complements...presumably on the basis of some fairly rigorous risk analyses...
I suggest the statistics show no appreciable increase in risk when operating aircraft with less than 150 seats using 3 CC members...
I also agree with M.Mouse and suggest that an airline paying CC members up to 2-3 times what an A&E Nurse might make is, frankly, ludicrous...
Still it's your airline....
Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if offered the choice, in the near future, of a significant pay-cut or redundancy...