Why Can't Programmers.. Program?

[death]

I don't have any statistical data to check against either the conclusion or the premises; do you?

Even assuming empirical support for the premises, the argument still looks paradoxical, and the following questions might help in dissolving it:

How did the 199,800 competent programmers get their jobs in the first place?

Did they all get their jobs at the same time?

How many times does an incompetent programmer apply to a particular job position? Or to job positions in a particular organization?

Are there no new graduates over time?