In which I agree with Paula Krebs
As I've said before, I tend to favor the least bad solution to problems, and Paula Krebs' argument in favor of Skyping rather than MLA-ing for job interviews is much better than least bad. Certainly, there are still trade-offs. Job applicants with ready access to fast internet connections and Skype might still, for whatever reason, need places other than their homes to interview, which means that graduate programs should at the very least invest in an "interview space" for their candidates (quiet, neutral decor, reliable connection, high-quality videocam and microphone, etc.). As one of the commenters points out, the shift would also accelerate the disintegration of "uniformity" In the job search process. If campuses interview at wildly different times during the school year, that affects both applications (do I apply to this not-exciting but early job?) and negotiations (if job A offers me something but job B won't decide for a month yet, what to do?). But overall, though, the shift to Skyping is an economic win-win for both applicants and departments. My own department, for example, generally sends at least four people to the MLA for interviews (chair + the committee), which can easily cost up to $6K; I somehow don't see the administration collapsing in despair if, you know, that money were diverted elsewhere. Meanwhile, applicants can use the $1500 for...well, when I was a graduate student and then a lecturer, there were indeed many other things to do with that much cash, all of them more useful than attending the MLA. And candidates for whom travel is difficult, for any number of reasons, can be spared at least one round of airports.
Moreover, one of the positive knock-on effects of disconnecting MLA and hiring would be shrinking the conference. Yes, I know people who find the MLA a thing of beauty and a joy forever, but sticking thousands of funereally-clad academics*, many of whom don't want to be there, in antiseptic hotels and conference centers is not the best recipe for happiness. Too, with a smaller conference, it might be possible to opt for less expensive host cities.
*--I once attended a English conference in the company of a historian, who asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are all of you wearing black?"