But don't you see? Where the majority of the blame lies is irrelevant - it affects all of us in this industry and therefore it is the responsibility of all to do all we can to prevent it happening.
To clarify what I think, imagine a group of kids having fun at the local playing field. Now, if another, smaller group of kids come strolling up and does something that makes what the original lads are doing less enjoyable, it is their fault initially. But once that problem has been noticed, if the original group of kids don't do anything about it, then they are then also to blame for not taking control of the situation.
I think we are all in one big bed - this industry is full of problems, and the 250 hr self-paid line training cadet is just one of them. But once these problems intrude upon us as individuals and threaten our jobs, we are also to blame if we do nothing about it.
I don't disagree with you - if everybody just stopped paying for type ratings/line training etc, as soon as a few Captains dropped off the end of the corporate cliff, the problem begins to resolve itself.
But is that really feasible? Don't get me wrong, I don't condone this in the slightest, and I think we have reached a fork where decisions have to be made. But unfortunately, the better of the two roads to now be taken would require the coordination and compliance of thousands of new cadets refusing any schemes such as this. And we all know how many bigshots are out there, so is that really a possibility?
Or do we wait, let it happen (the older guys are lucky, they'll be out of all this soon), then make the best out of the future? Personally, I have every intention of working my way up in whatever airline I join in the future to a point where I can have an impact on decisions made - after all, it's my generation who will be in control of this industry in twenty or thirty years, that's the natural way of it. I can identify where you're coming from, and it's commendable, and I want the best for the industry I work in, of course I do, like everybody else!
I wouldn't have a problem if these 'schemes' were confined to the rung of the ladder at the very bottom, where guys are trying to take their first steps onboard. But yes, once it spreads upwards and jeapordises people's jobs that are well earnt, it does become a problem.
But what do we do?