I think this is an apparent dilemma only. Someone said that historically pilots had >2500 hours to go to work at a regional, which I hear was the case until maybe ten years ago. So having to slog through the traffic pattern with an English-mangling student all day is no big deal if the previous number was 2500 anyway. It's was always a hard profession to get into unless you were either a crook who falsifies logs, or a military aviator who was granted an exemption. It is true the acceptance criteria got lower by the late 2000s when 250 hour wonders started turning up, but the washout rates got ridiculous and it was pushed back by Congress anyway. Was the ATP rule right or wrong is another topic for discussion.