As far as "taking" jobs away, most people view that as a conscious and deliberate action where a pilot accepts horrible compensation just to get an airline job. PFT is something that comes to mind. The airlines do love this idea, because it helps their costs, and the second idea you mentioned (SJS) is their marketing tool. I'm not sure why you'd want to pay for so much training and be a regional pilot for a couple years. Not a very good return on your investment IMO. But with airlines hiring at such low times, it seems unlikely that you'd be keeping someone else from getting a job.