Software engineer's salary is nothing compared to doctors, lawyers and financial traders who enjoy protections from their organizations and a reputation of "being just expensive".

Lawyers and financial traders, maybe. Doctors, not so much (at least in the US). The NRMP is a far more effective wage-fixing cabal than anything anyone in silicon valley could ever dream up, and it's 100% legal.

> Software engineer's salary is nothing compared to doctors, lawyers and financial traders who enjoy protections from their organizations and a reputation of "being just expensive".

Not really all that true, for the professions as a whole, except for medical doctors, who are far above any of the others.

Per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [1], 2012 Median salaries for various professions:

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents: $71,720

Software developers: $93,350

Lawyers: $113,530

Physicians & Surgeons: >$187,200

[1] http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

In the valley I think I'd rather be a software engineer than a doctor or lawyer if I wanted to maximize my expected career earnings.

I should point out that your Expected career earnings has nothing to do with your profession and everything to do with what you actually do.

Yea, to the contrary, they're actually trying to decrease the upward price pressure of the natural market.

They decreased inflation immediately prior to a major period of financial instability. We all owe them a debt of gratitude for the foresight demonstrated. Corporate tax cuts for all involved as reward.