[zdmc]

I am surprised that so many of the comments seem to be ignoring the obvious: more experience generally means higher wage in the tech industry. It's a money issue.

I've personally worked with older programmers, and there has been little noticeable difference in capabilities (and often added benefits of organizational know-how). The issue is the pay.

Incidentally, it's the same reason why big companies are championing H1B visas by saying "there aren't enough US nationals to fill the roles" (even though the numbers don't bear the statement out): companies want to pay less for somewhat equivalent skills. Who wouldn't?