Perhaps the comparison between the medical and pilot professions highlights the problem in a nutshell. Medical training is carried out by government sponsored institutions which require high levels of qualification to enter. Whereas pilot training is an entirely private enterprise, and it would be a self defeating exercise for private enterprises to demand high standards of qualifications to enter, as they then would be required to pay accordingly.
Thus it is entirely beneficial to the said enterprises that, in theory, anyone with one or two basic qualifications and a large enough supply of ready cash can get themselves trained.
However, on the whole, in my experience, deep pockets don't guarantee a job, no matter how short you are prepared to sell yourself.
What they do mean is that there is a large pool of potential candidates for airlines to cherry pick the best, and as long as you have a basic grasp of economics (unlike Gordon Brown), and can understand the relationship of supply and demand, take home pay is unlikely to reflect the true worth of the responsibility and skills we undertake and possess.
So a bit more deglamourization of the piloting job, i.e. more emphasis on the long hours, multi-layered pressures, 6 month career checks, and, of course, our friends in airport security would serve to increase the T&Cs for us, the participants, as less people would offer themselves up as candidates in the future, and maybe, just maybe the supply and demand balance might re-adjust.