You portray it as everyone could and should live in base and thats not the case with this job. Once you're established within your company you dont just "Quit" if you have to change bases. This industry is run on seniority and that coincides with your pay.

I commute to MEM for my job with NWA/DAL, I had a choice of bases and aircraft as a new hire and i chose. Now lets say i moved to memphis right away and now that we've merged with Delta they decide to move aircraft out of MEM and put them in slc, should i then quit or uproot my family and move to slc? What if in a year the company decides to move planes from slc to atl and i cant hold a specific aircraft in atl, should i then uproot my family again? Maybe i should quit and start over at another airline? You're portraying this situation in our industry too simplistic. I dont have an office job thats central located in one place throughout my career. And no guys at this point in their careers just dont quit and start over

Commuting is part of this job now and just because you live in base doesnt mean you're going to have more rest anyway. You cant tell if guys whom live in base are getting sufficient sleep at home before they work so whats the difference? I, as a commuter, am often more rested than guys i fly with that live in base. Regulating commuters DOESNT solve anything.