Sorry for the previous rant.... sometimes the absurdity makes me nuts.

Thanks NoStep for the vote of confidence. I try to be evenhanded.

A bit of my backround to contrast Sgt's:

Been with Colgan about the same length of time, but refused the Q when hired because I wanted IAH. I flew 10 years in the 135 and corp world, but after closing two companies, I wanted a bit more "stability". I chose Colgan because:
they operated turboprops (and there will always be a market for TPs)
served three carriers vice one
had a large base which would not require me to move and had a low cost of living

As somebody said, if no one applied, something would have to give (some sort of better compensation). But that is true of EVERY airline: mainline and regional. So the best answer is to tell everybody we know how crappy this industry is, then maybe there won't be a zillion wide eyed kids taking lessons.