Median income in the US is $49,000 and falling. Most pilot bases are in higher cost cities. Most regional pilots have a 4 year degree + specialized training + travel away from home = should be making more than median income.

I am not overly romantic about 80's regional life, it was a stepping stone then, instead of climbing Mt. Everest now. I did, however, although I did make an inflation corrected (1987 to 2011) 42k as a first year FO on a SAAB, 15 on/off and it had a FO, although I am not sure what means. By the 90's it was well on its way to the bottom, the code shares and eventual buyouts of the mid 80's is what eventually sent it all down hill, although with expanded flying. There used to be many independent regionals with their own routes, some were horrible, some were really quite good. True, it did take 2500/500 and (sometimes) an ATP to get in, and you had to mail a resume/application, which I think is a better way - the internet has lead to a huge flood of resumes. A certain fractional I know has 14,000 pilot resumes on file, all internet. They are obviously overwhelmed and now they only hire through pilot referrals, ultimately not a good thing because like any organic system that is a way to inbreed and get a disease. In ancient days I'd research a company at the library, I think it kept 14,000 resumes from showing up.