On the contrary, code quality sucks now because there's not enough talented programmers to go around. So many smart, quick witted kids are getting diverted into other professions. What if the total number of capable programmers doubled with the same amount of work? There's plenty of developers today who would be considered flat out incompetent if you held them to standards for any other industry. At the very least there's not enough qualified individuals on the job market to force those people out yet.