Then why don't the airlines just get their pilots off the street? They could really save some bucks.
Believe me, they would if they could. And they would find plenty of qualified people. But the American flying public would not fly an airline that hired their pilots this way. Most people flying a commercial jet want to feel assured that their pilots are "professionals" who have thousands of flying hours under their belts before they even step into a commercial aircraft. Whether this way of thinking is justified or not is not the point. The consumer sets the rules in the marketplace and that is that.