"Web" desktop software adds layers of abstraction and complexity to poorly emulate functionality that already exists in order to decrease the cognitive load of programmers learning paradigms they aren't familiar with. It's less about everything looking like a nail when you only know how to use a hammer, and more about not realizing that there's a better tool for the job. One that is less prone to errors and actually easier to learn to use.

That's fine, though. My plan for retirement is to make millions supporting desktop apps that can't be replaced because the "web for desktop" programmers have a ceiling on the level of app complexity they can handle. Line of business apps require 1 to 2 orders of magnitude more effort and so the things written before that paradigm are not economically feasible to replace.

If you thought knowing COBOL in 1999 was profitable, just wait 20 years until only a few old-timers know how to maintain the millions of custom WinForms or VB apps that make businesses work.