A few points gentlemen....

$80/hr is more than any major airline pilot first year pay, and is more than a majority of regional captains make. This number, as a 1st year pay, is absurd, if for no other reason that it provides a reason for yet another low-cost regional to enter the picture. Somebody will do it for less.

Point the second: if an RJ or ERJ costs $4000-5000 an hour to operate, a few items were left out. MX, crew costs, and fuel are only 3 variables. There are also the costs of other employees that need to be paid, and their salary is drawn from the same revenue sources. Your benefits must be paid (I am willing to bet that your carrier self-insures for health insurance; your "insurance company" simply handles the billing and logistics. When you to the doctor, the portion covered by insurance is actually paid by the carrier); overhead; landing fees; gate leases; your hotel rooms; the various taxes that are paid on your behalf; all of this must come out of that revenue per block hour.

I'm not suggesting regional FO's should not make more. They should, but they won't for as long as people are willing to either enter the industry or re-cycle through if they lose their jobs.

Point the third...As for taking on the debt to get here...nobody forced you to do that. There are ways to avoid that, and there are careers to choose that either don't require it, or offer a great return on the investment in the early years.

I do believe, however, that the day of reckoning for the airlines is near. I have friends that are RJ recruiters, and the situation is dire. But until the cancellations start building up, the majors will not increase the fees that they pay for departure. But...it's coming.