BigNumber
Harsh words indeed, and in reply to your question maybe my username will give you a clue as to why I am unhappy.
So I paid the money and gambled like everyone else and yes I have had success and failure, once upon a time I would have been a hot commodity with Jet Time and Commercial Flying, but now the only skills I need are a blue licence, a book on interview techniques (optional) and last but really first a bank account full of money. You may say it has always been this way and market forces drive the P2F, this I have to admit is true, but when pilots were respected for their skill and the responsibility they held then did we see empty aircraft flying to spain and back, when a family holiday meant most people having to save their hard earned to go ABROAD.
No they were full to the brim and Air Travel was special, now we have the me me me and throwaway society and to hell with what they want and must justify the bottom line, fly aircraft on ever tighter margins of cost/safety and all so that we can get to the places we all went before but paid a higher price for.
And yes you are right a lot of people see it as a Hobby made into a job, so what's next St John's Ambulance volunteers paying to remove some guys spleen because they enjoy caring for people, come on you know, I know and every person with one ounce of sense, it is not about the amount of unemployed pilots out there but the Low Cost Model which is the preferred option for quite a few operators.
And of course as costs were slashed by other industries from the early 90's to today. We now get Clothes from india, sri lanka, pakistan, electronics from the far east and food from just about every third world producer you can name, therefore I might suggest that along with many other ex UK industries we won't return to the good old days, rather when the P2F bank accounts dry up, Aviation provided by UK based airlines will cease, and the glut of foreign low cost operators will take the market and will no doubt fleece the poor deluded wannabe for a fortune just to play aeroplanes.
Well either we stand together or we will fall together, yes the ex-pat markets are strong, but given time their own nationals will catch up then the sound of Nigel on the airwaves will be a distant memory and yet again the market will have turned full circle and disappeared up its own backside.
However your right vanity and jingoistic personalities will endure, and when the current economic downturn kills off a few more operators, then the pool we are all swimming in will become smaller, and the sharks will get fatter.