Very good take on this. I do agree there will be a place for the competent devs out there. Would you say that coding ability may be less of a factor moving forward but your potential to understand concepts, creativity and grasp on the bigger picture may be more important than ever?
I guess it depends on what you mean by coding ability. I used to think one of my super powers was being a faster than average typist who was familiar with vim. Compared to those in my immediate vicinity I could edit files much faster. That ability has rapidly lost value. But the ability to read and understand unfamiliar code quickly is still "coding ability" in my book and that has not yet begun to lose value. I haven't seen much success in getting agents to help with that.
I pay alot of taxes. Probably more annually in the last decade than I made in total my first decade working.
Many of my peers spend alot of time agonizing about this stuff and spending both mental energy and significant capital in avoidance. I get a higher ROI focusing on more valuable activities. Besides, art is an economic engine. If you studied it, I’d guess those tax credits in Ireland generate multiples in domestic economic activity.
It seems dubious to claim that the tax break is a net positive for the country's economy. If art were so economically viable I suspect it would pay for itself and not need government incentives. I have no problem with the government paying a muralist to beautify some public space, but this is not that. This is subsidizing art that already has some economic value to someone, just not very much.
I feel like what is actually happening is subsidizing the buying of art, as the artist themselves can afford to charge a lower price due to the tax break. So you are encouraging the population to buy more art. And I guess that has some hypothetical returns in terms of life satisfaction and civility...? I think if they framed it this way, as a tax benefit available to anyone instead of exclusively to a select few, it might be more well received. I think of the mortgage interest tax break in the USA (which is actually almost completely negated at this point by the growing standard deduction) in the same way. It encourages people to settle down, maintain a job, and buy into society, so it helps build social stability and reduces violence.