I think you also have to look at the circumstances. Those of us in Group A are used to making ends meet on much less than the 60k figure you put in there. 60k sounds like a lot of money. Group B, on the other hand, is used to that lifestyle which 200k will afford. Regardless, living outside of your means will come back to bite you no matter if you're at 30, 60, or 500 thousand per year.

I think when group A changes to the majors, and gets used to that lifestyle that the salary at a major affords. I'll probably be pushing for the age rule to be raised by the time I hit 50 too

Personally, I don't think this dillution will last much longer. At some point everybody is going to look around and say enough is enough. At some point they will stand up to management getting millions of dollars in bonuses at the expense of pay cuts, and at some point they'll quit putting up with unions that only look out for those in the top tier of pay rather than their entire workforce.

Personally, I refuse to let myself give in to the dillution of this industry and I wish my peers would quit stabbing each other in the back by buying into the idea that the fastest route to the top is the one that goes to the lowest bidder. It's a skilled trade, and we are responsible for millions of dollars in equipment and any number of people in the back, which in my mind are priceless.