Pay for training only hurts yourself, in the long run. It sends the message you don't value yourself or your skills, and you'd stab your co-worker to get one meager step ahead. At the same time, you're helping management stuff their pockets.
If no one paid for training, the schools would dry up (as they should). If you continue to make short-sighted decisions, you'll continue to suffer. We should instead support stronger labor laws and unions. Pilots as a group can send the very strong message that they think as a unit and act accordingly.
Those who defend PFT as 'the way it is' are usually those who have already sold out. They are the ones management knows can be pushed around and manipulated with fear tactics. They've lost the knowledge that they need us more than we need them.
After the CFI ratings, there's no need for PFT.