It has nothing to do with negativity and everything to do with reality. What makes you think hiring is going to bust open in 6 months? My crystal ball is inop but if I had to guess its gonna be Q2 2009 at the earliest before you start to see any meaningful economic recovery and significant movement within the industry. The name of the game now is consolidating and preserving cash flow in order to weather the current storm.
So forgive me for calling a spade a spade and saying that "investing" 55-60K on ratings is a bad financial decision...especially when it can be done for far cheaper. If you are having to pay that loan back on CFI pay or towing banners or bouncing from regional to regional on first year pay or, better yet, stomaching a furlough life is going to suck for you. No way around it. I'll say it again: there is no need to pay the premium (ever) to rush guys. The party at the airlines is over...at least for now.