I disagree.. This is a matter of economics and supply and demand. The only people I see supporting the 500 hour FO program are guys with ... low hours. A few higher time guys have added positive remarks, but I would guess that they are high time FOs who've never had to keep an eye on a low time co-pilot. Most are in the cockpit at 500 hours because they just don't want to pay for a higher time guy/girl. I know there are some really sharp lower time pilots out there, so I apologize for the generalization.