Why would you say that? Within *A, qualification for *G varies quite widely.
Until the 2013 benefit year, *G was actually comparatively easy to get on AC (believe it or not) - 35k miles vs 50k on UA for example.
I think LH requires 100k (!!!!) status miles for *G.
Of course different earnings rates for different fare classes between *A programs makes this a difficult direct comparison - but certainly status qualification criteria across the alliance is not uniform.
I think the point was that even for this change, it only applies to 016 ticket stock, because it's hard to track spend when you buy the ticket elsewhere.
And if the program ever changes such that a domestic US flight doesn't get me anything, I'll be
very annoyed.