When did 80k a year stop being a lot of money? One can live very comfortably on that if they choose to. That being said, where does one draw the line. What is the formula for determining what YOU are worth or what payrate an airplane should command? Why aren't you worth $500,000? I think I am worth $1,000,000 to fly my Citation, but thats not what my company is willing to pay me. My only choice then is to evaluate their offer and see if it meets my needs. If it doesn't, I can choose to adjust my standard of living or go elsewhere. The pay rates at the regional level are not new and most people on here complaining now signed up for the very same rates when they were hired within the last few years. Fight for what you are worth, just know how to define "worth".

Additionally, I am all for pilots making the most they can, but comparing todays pay rates to those of a different period in aviation is not really the way to go. It's like the housing market...in most places, a house you bought 4 years ago is worth less today, even though inflation is still rampant. You can say your house is worth 1 million because that is what you paid for it 5 years ago, but if the market only commands 500,000 today, then guess what it is really worth. An item is only worth what people will pay for it combined with what the seller will accept, and past performance really doesn't matter much in most cases.