I think we agree on plenty, your posts here have always been pretty reasonable, IMO.
I'd be interested to see your "proof" that gateways would save us money. And it really has to be more than anecdotal proof, because I know our business analysts have applied some real math and complex computer modeling to the issue. They have some real brainiacs locked away in the Princeton, believe me, I've talked to them. I'm sure if you went in and discussed it with someone (either in Flight Ops or in the Business Analysis / Metrics dept.), they'd be happy to share the reasoning with you.
I really don't have any "insight" as to the reasoning they're following, other than the common knowledge of it involving crew densities at the gateways, maintenance facilities, and the amount of business we do in a particular area.
Really though, if they really believed that it would save money, I completely believe that they'd open the whole country overnight. I don't think anyone gets any sick pleasure from forcing people to live in our 3 gateways. That's just the nature of business!