We've had all the economic arguments in the weeks before the WTC tragedy. No-one was seriously forecasting economic meltdown then, and nothing other than confidence has changed since. Confidence will return, eventually, otherwise we might just as well all give up now! Sure, some industries are/were having a hard time because of factors peculiar to those industries, but the macro-economic picture was not bad. Now it's bleak, but only because everyone keeps saying it is!
As for sticky wages, yes, I've heard of that. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that in times of plentiful supply of pilots, wages don't increase at the same rate as they do in times of shortage. Semantics, really. The net effect is much the same.
Keep your hopes up, because you've little else you can do!