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Those who talk like the OP tend to forget the basic economic principle of supply and demand.
At the amateur level, despite the "great pay," there is a great shortage of officials across all sports. If there wasn't a short supply, those who simply "draw breath" wouldn't get to work or would work less games. In good associations, top umpires work the top games. In places where officials contract directly with schools or league commissioners, it becomes a "fill the spot" kind of game and anyone can work just about any game.
I work in an amateur adult league where we get $70 for a 9-inning wood bat league. I am also the assignor. I've talked to teams about the game fee, which I (as an umpire) would like to see increase at least $10, especially since single college games are paying $90 to $100. A prevailing comment is that "we wouldn't mind paying YOU the extra money, but there are guys who don't deserve (really) the money they get now."
I've seen some work and I know that anyone who wants to work will and it becomes harder to argue for an increase. Supply and demand. So when the top umpires sit down next season, we'll see how the league handles the situation. The cynical me says they'd rather save $20 a game than have good umpiring.
But I would like people to stop thinking we make SO much money doing this. For some of us, $70 on a Sunday afternoon doesn't just involve the time from the first pitch to the last out. We also have to drive to the game site, etc., and the afternoon becomes a 7 hour experience. We also have to (if we care about how we look) buy uniforms regularly and buy equipment.
We also have to fight some perception that what we do is "unskilled" and "anyone can do it" from the average fan/coach perspective. Everyone thinks calling balls and strikes is easy or running a game is easy, so $10 an hour therefore becomes a reasonable rate. In my real life, I have 3 degrees and I work in a very specialized field and have very specific skills and $10-$20 an hour wouldn't even get me off my couch.
And it doesn't when it comes to umpiring, either. I've been asked to umpire some JV and freshman games the past few years, but the pay rate for those games is barely half of what I make working a varsity game ($35 vs. $60). It's not that I'm too good for those lower level games, it's just I don't feel my time is being valued correctly (the games take just as long as varsity games) and I also risk not being able to pick up a makeup varsity or college game if I load up my schedule with lower level games. So I don't do it and haven't worked one since 2003. Now, in football where games aren't canceled and varsity plays on Friday night, I work anything I can get, also because it's a great place for my crew to get work outside the Friday night spotlight.
Would certification give us better umpires? I don't know. It would have to be meaningful, not just some hoops people jump through just to get a star in a box on an Excel spreadsheet.
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