Originally Posted by satchip
The government won't do it on their own but if ALPA (and I use them because it's easier to type) had a hand in how pilot licenses are granted and what was required to be an Airline Transport Pilot, it would go a long way towards reducing the supply thus increasing the price.
You can graduate from law school with a J.D. and never practice law a day in your life.
You can graduate med school with an M.D. and never practice medicine a day in your life.
I hold an ATP and have never been required per FARs to hold one.
I'm a former ALPA member and volunteer myself, but ALPA has no right or business dictating who can and cannot hold a commercial pilot's licence or ATP (or what those standards must be).
Regulating your specific segment of industry (ie airlines) is one thing, but a blanket right to impose their will on an industry as a whole isn't an acceptable situation just so airline pilots can artificially shrink the pilot pool in an attempt to raise their own wages.