Please quote where the OP mentions anything to do with shields?
I'm pretty confident that the whole pure healer movement is down to people thinking that SE doesn't want us to DPS. That is of course assuming that it's not a discussion about the merits of shields vs whatever else, which if I'm not mistaken, this isn't. Of course, the OP is welcome to correct me on this if I am wrong <3
The thing is, until you hit E4S, they just aren't there. You only have to look at my logs to see that I'm a pretty awful habitual overhealer, especially during progression, yet I had almost no MP issues at all this tier because I just wasn't being taxed. E2S came a little close for me if I had to raise and the group mitigation wasn't great, but E1S and E3S were uneventful to say the least. Compare that to God Kefka progression where I was inhaling Ethers and riding my MCH's foot if Bishop was more than a few ticks late.
SE's done some good encounters that have really pushed healers in the past. Other than Titan, these turns won't be joining that list in my book.