I never said it did but no matter how you look at it I look at it as money coming in, aka as income. When you do your monthly budget to you not factor in per diem as money coming in to offset expenses? No matter what your job is you have to eat and food is rarely free no matter where you work. I probably eat free more than my friends who have normal day jobs. Rarely pay for a meal unless its on a layover. Also, I get a huge tax write off each year by itemizing my per diem. 1st year pay at most regionals is around $23/hour so that over $20K, not $15K. Not sure why people arguing the low pay always have to embellish and exaggerate it.