I can't see how a blanket 1500 hour requirement addresses these issues.
Raising the minimum hours is no silver bullet to the problem that is trying to be addressed.
It is a very important step forward.
To those that believe that experience means nothing, perhaps you need to open your eyes.
Would you prefer:
An experienced Doctor or an intern to help your ill loved one ?,
an experienced Mechanic fixing your car or an apprentice ?,
an open licenced driver or a "P" plater driving your children to school ?.
Sure, there are bad experienced Doctors, that would probably be less capable than a smart intern, but this Doctor would have also been a very poor intern in his/her day.
Take two pilots that are equal in all other ways, the more experienced one will more often make the right choice and will definately have a wider field of vision.
To those of you that can not see any truth in the belief that experience counts, " you don't know what you don't know" may just apply.