I have. Traded long enough to have 6-7 billions worth of stuff, so I never have to trade again By running cardamine (where you don't get asked to pay a tax, but simply just get vaporized if you get caught) and by smuggling Luxury Food right past Cadiz Base in O-5.
Regarding scouts, you can do some forum RP or look for known Freelancers in-game. Sometimes RP takes a bit more effort than a random system message, especially in a system like N.Y. that is only inhabited by new players, powertraders and Navy capital ships.
Besides if you are doing it right you won't really need scouts. It really is as easy as looking at your scanner and breaking lane fast.
I've tried reasoning with you and whatnot, but obviously you've done it all and more and are just a better pilot/gamer than i'll ever hope to achive.
Obviously, it's so easy for you to make billions. Than now all you have to do is just sit on your fourtune and just PVP anyway you want. Hell man, just buy a GB and prat to your heart's content.
And about RP? Obviously you are in the know and finding other players to be escorts(not that you need them) should be a breeze.
Please list some of your chars here, so when i get on i can ask you to round up these players.
I'm really not trying to be harsh here, but you make it sound so very Easy in everything. I wish i had your skillz.
Here's a couple, I only took a look at the first few pages. Besides from those, there are a lot of players willing to do escorts if you interact with them (depending on time zones of course, sometimes the player count is so low that it is hard to find other players to interact with, but then again at those times you will have even less of a need for escorts as pirates are fewer and farther between). I know a lot of Freelancers would love to do escort ops and make credits that way rather than hunting for blues. You can even ask fresh players out of Pennsylvania, if you tell them how to do it. A CSV would make a fine scout, plus fresh players will get a taste of roleplaying and team work.
Also it IS easy, and it doesn't take any skills whatsoever. Just keep your eyes glued to your scanners - or choose routes that doesn't take you through pirate hot spots. If you haven't noticed most pirates (including me) aren't that creative and tend to stick to the Cali lanes / Liberty in general. The rules cover your behind as well, ensuring that you *always* get a decent profit no matter what, as long as you don't get yourself killed of course. Can't see why that is so hard.
Don't forget that a trader's main asset isn't guns or armor but rather intelligence (in the sense of having knowledge of pirates and how they operate and reacting to that knowledge).
EDIT: In all seriousness, you can't say that Pirates are really infringing on your profits in the grand scheme of things. I have a hard time believing that.
EDIT EDIT: If piracy really is that big of a deal, you can consider getting a Gallic corp 5K'er and do intra-Gallia trading. Nobody goes there, nobody pirates there and a lot of the intra-house trade routes are extremely profitable. Heck, you can even AFK trade there with great success.
EDIT EDIT EDIT: You can also make a post in the comms thread, describing your problem and asking for Freelancers willing to do escort ops to register with you, so you always have a list of Freelancers at your disposal. There are so many different things you can do to solve your problem if you choose to be pro-active.