btr, the main attraction of a 16 team league for me (as a fan) is quite straight forward. More variety, less repetitive, and a sensible straightforward league format that doesn't further humiliate scottish football to outside observers. Any kind of split mid-season is wrong in my opinion.
I haven't really got answers about 'the national team' and 'finances', but I'm guessing both those issues are at an all time low anyway, and I can't see how an 8-8-8 set up would improve those situations either?
We need a pyramid system like the english fa, whereby ambitious amateur clubs (like the rangers ) can start at the very bottom and work their way up. In fact the whole english set up should be a model for the future of our game, albeit on a smaller scale.