Why is that not bad? I don't see where the value for society got so much better, if that's the measure you're using - I'd rather have someone run the Ethereum blockchain than generate catgirl porn pictures. But even that is IMHO more useful than a bunch of guys gaming, at least more people get to feel the effect of a GPU than if it was owned by a gamer and only ever used for his eye candy. Games also could simply use the available resources better and then the gamers wouldn't need such absurdly overpowered hardware.
Overall, I think we shouldn't be measuring usage of GPUs, solar panels or any other products like this and definitely shouldn't be saying who has a right to have it and who doesn't, or for what prices - that gets us into nasty situations with only nasty answers.
This is a product like any other, gamers don't have any right to get cheap GPUs. Somebody else offered more money for it and the vendor didn't take the low-end market - that's just how it is.
Yes, there was a semiconductor shortage, but miners made the situation worse for others because they each used tens of GPUs instead of just one as a normal person would for gaming or graphics work.