As a resident of SF I find coffee-shop laptop users to be a pest in busy cafes. Coffee shops are a great social environment, and dominating a seat for an extended period of time while you are immersed in your computer runs counter to that culture.
Why do you assume they aren't getting paid market wages? Your statement, in a way, is contradictory. Engineers are perceived as scarce, but they aren't paid market wages.
As a tech worker living in San Francisco, his 'open letter' infuriated me. If anything, it makes my life here more difficult, and reflects poorly on the industry I work in. Unintended consequence? Probably. But I will happily vent my frustration with his callousness, lack of tact and compassion, just as he vented his frustrations.
Oh cry me a river. There is a theme evolving, and the media have latched onto it. Are lawyers and school teachers continually writing these self-righteous 'open letters'? Are lawyers and teachers of a growing, sufficient mass in a city that is struggling to serve a great proportion of it's population (for various, complicated reasons)? No.
Life is easier for 'us' than the mentally ill, the addicts, and those with less luck in life. When a self aggrandizing 20 something white guy working in a prosperous industry starts complaining like this, with the intent of attracting attention, it promotes a stereotype of a lack of sensitivity, and compassion for those around us.
Prestige and respect? Earn it, as a person. Compassion is part of that equation. You don't earn it by becoming a programmer or working in tech.
Idiots like the author give tech workers a bad name. The move reeks of a publicity stunt, and the appropriate response would be for the industry to reject whatever startup he is fronting.
Wage slavery is just fine as long as I can feed myself. Time has proven that the fantasy that we will all kick back and let the machines do all of our work is a fallacy.
You won't love them less, but they will grow up in a world where they are not necessary. They will struggle to feed themselves, and the value of their effort will be low. They will be relegated to mundane, highly simplified tasks. Economics are cruel.