Okay, how about this scenario ?

A small businessman (in the computer industry) can't make a software sale. Why ? Cause there's a ton of pirated/copied/borrowed software around.

How does he survive ?

I'm not defending the software companies. I think they overcharge (monstrously, at times).

The programmer was paid an hourly rate to write the code, and then its stamped out by the thousands. Profit going where ?
(not the programmer).

(I'm going to duck to avoid the flaming) Even the most honest of people has at least one piece of software they didn't buy legally.