A few weeks ago, one of my favorite artists came out with a new album. The day I tried it out, I played through it several times. My brain was invigorated, my blood was pumping, and I had an abnormally productive day of coding.
That day of productive coding produced tens of thousands of dollars of value for my company. That's value that, at least partially, wouldn't exist without the artist's new album.
My company will reap benefits in the form of added revenue. I'll reap benefits in the form of bonuses and promotions. But the artist, who produced this value as an externality, will only receive value if I decide to buy their CD out of gratitude.
The gap between artists producing value for society, and being rewarded for that value, is a shame, and we're worse off for it. I can't think of a solution, but I also can't shake the feeling that this disconnection of value is at the heart of the "making a living" issue.