I calculated that each active FB user is "worth" something on the order of $17 to FB's bottom line... so making the argument that "I should be paid $1000's a year for all my social media content!" is really pretty "pie in the sky."

This is the difference between WEB2 and WEB3.

• Users are worth way more on WEB3.
• The community itself controls a currency with more utility/options than fiat.
• The protocol itself can provide jobs to the users.

I don't think it's appropriate to compare the $17 Facebook user to a WEB3 user.
I think that's very misleading.

You make great points in terms of the infrastructure we have today.
But what happens when we have a gamified training program that trains hundreds or thousands of devs every year?
What happens when this network materializes in the real world and opens up shop?
People around here are willing to work for peanuts we just need the infrastructure to accommodate them.