Should programmers be held responsible for bad code

"Should programmers be held responsible for bad code" is a misleading title. The actual article is titled "Bad Code: Should Software Makers Pay?".

There is a world of difference between the managing decision makers who sign off on resourcing and warrantying, and the folks who receive marching orders and do the implementation.

If you're management, the buck stops with you. You don't get to push blame down the chain. If the problem is lower in the chain it is up to management to fix that problem.