Well, security starts from the user. If you're not mindful of what websites you visit, or what files/apps you download and run, there's no OCSP or anything else there to save you.
OCSP enabled or not, you're still one website click away from being pwned to oblivion, giving full control to the hacker – which, of course, is inevitable to an extent, since bugs always find their way into software.
And also allowed a jailbreak app in the iOS App Store. Yes, it only happened once (that I know of), but it still shows you can't really be oblivious to their practices.
> now having to face competition from some random guy in Romania who can code circles around you and can accept a job at one quarter of your salary
This is true to some extent, but there are companies that pay well. Currently I work remotely in a country where the very top salaries for engineers are around $20K, and I make close to $80K.
OCSP enabled or not, you're still one website click away from being pwned to oblivion, giving full control to the hacker – which, of course, is inevitable to an extent, since bugs always find their way into software.
So why not make it easy to disable?