Doesn't a "Full" Brookfield contract allow O' Leary to just stand you down with no flying for months on end? Given the low basic and high flying pay your wage packet shrinks by more than half. Not nice when you have a nice big juicy unsecured loan to keep serviced.
SSTR is a symptom of the credit and housing bubble. The crunch is the cure.
(Though I paid for most of my training through re-mortgaging me house)