IR not IMC
P-Swinger you miss the point.
Part of my post related to an IR not an IMC rating (which is a UK only thing).
In the USA all aircraft are treated as equal,with ratings designed to have a common theme regardless of what aircraft you are in.
Punative charges for ILS approaches hardly encourage practice in the UK and ATC certainly do NOT like mixing light aircraft with commercial operations.
With a UK instrument rating one is faced with exams that are 75% of the old CPL which is why every man and his dog goes for a FAA rating to fly their Citation or twin turbo prop.
If we are all sharing the same airspace then the regulations need to be such that a PPL can reasonably gain competence without a financial penalty. It is to everyones advantage to see that 'Air Users' understand the requirements of others, and a better understanding leads to less conflict. I have no problem with the old IMC rating,but many holders of this rating do not understand its legal limitations in controlled airspace.