[j_baker]

Most applications today need mostly "sweat" code(UI, all the various feature behaviors, integration of outside assets and APIs) and a tiny amount of "clever" stuff.

This is true, but deceptive in my opinion. Sure, the vast majority of your code may be "sweat" code if you look at it on a strictly line-by-line basis. But the "clever" code is where you really add business value. It's oftentimes your secret sauce that gives customers a reason to use you versus one of your competitors. It's usually the code you spend the most time worrying about.

Granted, this isn't true of all businesses. Some companies make their living writing CRUD software that wins due to brilliant design. These firms rarely need programmers to add much business value beyond their time and energy, which is fine. But I wouldn't say that's representative of all or even most software businesses.