You realise that some of your arguments could be applied equally to open source software?
yes, and they stand for open source software too. Open source is devaluing developers in the long run. With all of the free open source software being released, many companies don't need software engineers because all of the hard work is already completed. Many only really need software mechanics, which tinker with the already existing code and add features. As more and more owners realize this, salaries for developers will slowly drop.
I've already seen this at a few companies. Instead of hiring a team of developers to work on something, the company hired one developer and used an open source app. You don't really need a college education for this type of work.