Journalists love to say that programmers are going to be the rock stars of the Internet age.
If we remember how poorly big business treats most rock stars, then that prediction might just come true. Nine times out of ten, it's a talented person who aligns with a corrupt power in order to dominate the marketplace through monopolized channels. Talent is rarely a shield against corruption or exploitation. This fact applies as much to programmers as it does to musicians. I'd like to believe that truly innovative IT companies will succeed not by learning to cheat but by taking the ball away from the bad guys and starting a different and better game.