I'm going respectfully disagree with you on the first point. Do you really need a Phd to maintain an internal javascript framework with a handful of users? (True story). A lot of the hires are made to starve the competition of good people.

The low hiring bar is relative. If all you do is put together crud apps and it's mostly stitching things together you might not even need a formal CS education. In fact a lot of people I know are wildly successful because they found their niche. They would have an exceptional bad time in a whiteboard setting.