Sure, but the same group of people that complains about (the publishing of) papers, is then in a position to change that, but doesn't. All those people that went through this process and complained, then (well.. a few years later) sit in univeristy comitees that decide what the hiring (and scoring) rules are, what are the requirements fo TAs, for professors and tenures, etc., and decide, that the "pain of publishing" is an ok thing to subject new generations to.

edit: i'm from slovenia, univeristies here are "autonomous" (not a direct part of the government.. except for being government funded), and they decide all the internal rules themselves.